LIFE    OF 

GEN,  ANDREW  JACKSON, 

BY  JOHN  S.  JENKINS,  A.  M. 


LIFE 

AND 

PUBLIC    SERVICES 

OF 

GEN,  ANDREW  JACKSON 

SEVENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES ; 
INCLUDING 

THE    MOST  IMPORTANT  OF  HIS    STATE    PAPERS. 
EDITED  BY  JOHN  S.  JENKINS,  A.  M. 


WITH 

THE   EULOGY, 

DELIVERED  AT   WASHINGTON   CITY,  JUNE21,  184S. 

BY  HON.  GEORGE  BANCROFT. 


BUFFALO : 
GEO.    H.    iJERBY    AND    CO 

1851. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1650,  by 

GEO.    H.    DERBY    &    CO- 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  lor  the  Northern  District  of  JNew  ¥"ork. 


JEWETT,  THOMAS,  &  CO., 

STEREOTYPKRS    AND    PRINTERS, 

Buffalo,  &.  Y. 


TO  THE 

AMERICAN    PEOPLE, 

THIS   MEMOIR   OF    ONE, 
WHO    60    OFTEN    SIGNALIZED    HIS   DEVOTION   TO   THEM 

AND  THEIR  WELFARE 

ON  THE  FIELD  OF  BATTLE  AND  IN  THE  CABINET, 
IN     BOYHOOD     AND     IN     AGE 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 


PREFACE. 


THE  following  Memoirs  hardly  requirl  an  intro 
duction  to  the  American  reader.  The  life  of  ANDREW 
JACKSON  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the  history 
of  the  country,  that  the  careful  student  of  the  one, 
will  not  rest  satisfied,  until  he  is  able  fully  to  under 
stand  and  appreciate  the  other.  Whatever  may  be 
the  views  entertained  in  regard  to  his  merits  as  a 
warrior,  or  his  abilities  as  a  statesman,  his  conduct 
in  both  capacities  was  such  as  must  necessarily 
command  attention.  His  admirers  will  always  be 
eager  to  discover  some  new  object  for  their  remem 
brance  and  regard ;  while  those  who  are  unwilling 
to  approve  his  course,  either  in  the  camp  or  the 
cabinet,  will  feel  impelled,  from  curiosity,  if  from 
no  other  motive,  to  examine  the  incidents  of  his 
memorable  life.  There  are  many  features  in  his 
Character,  and  those  by  no  means  of  the  least  im- 


PREFACE. 

portance,  which  all  will  deem  worthy  of  commenda 
tion  ;  and  none  can  be  so  much  influenced  by  the 
prejudices  which  have  survived  the  termination  of 
his  earthly  careei ,  as  to  withhoM  the  appropriate 
tribute  of  their  respect. 

A  large  portion  of  the  matter  to  be  found  in  these 
pages  has  >'been  heretofore  published,  in  different 
shapes.  While  the  writer  has  not  hesitated  to  make 
free  and  liberal  use  of  such  materials  as  were  within 
his  reach,  both  the  language  and  the  arrangement 
have,  in  all  cases,  been  so  modified  and  changed, 
as  to  harmonize  with  his  desire  of  giving  to  the 
public,  a  fair,  candid,  and  impartial  life,  of  the  dis 
tinguished  citizen  and  soldier  whose  name  appears 
on  the  title-page  of  the  volume.  But  little  merit, 
therefore,  is  claimed  on  the  score  of  originality ;  and 
if  those  for  whom  it  has  been  prepared,  are  in  any 
degree  gratified  by  its  appearance,  the  labor  be 
stowed  upon  it  will  be  amply  rewarded. 

An  attempt  has  been  made,  which  it  is  hoped 
may  n/)t  be  regarded  as  altogether  unsuccessful,  to 
present  a  full  and  complete  account  of  the  early  his 
tory  of  General  Jackson,  his  campaigns  against  the 


PREFACE.  9 

Indians,  his  brilliant  achievements  during  the  war  of 
1812,  and  his  official  acts  as  governor  of  Florida. 
A  general  outline  of  his  administration  of  the  nar- 
tional  government  is  also  given ;  but  for  reasons 
which  must  be  obvious,  the  space  devoted  to  this 
purpose  is  comparatively  brief.  Less  could  not  have 
been  said,  without  marring  the  completeness  of  the 
work;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  had  the  text  been 
more  full  and  explicit,  political  sympathies  and 
affinities  might  have  been  manifested,  which  ought 
to  be  carefully  concealed. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGB 

1767.  Introductory  remarks — Birth  and  parentage  of  Andrew 
Jackson — His  early  life — Influence  of  his  mother — War  of  the 
Revolution — Colonel  Buford  surprised  and  defeated — Martial 
spirit  of  the  colonists — Andrew  Jackson  joins  the  American 
army — Heroic  conduct  in  defending  Captain  Lands — Surprise 
of  the  Waxhaw  settlers  at  their  rendezvous — Escape  and  cap 
ture  of  Jackson — His  stratagem  to  prevent  the  seizure  of 
Thompson — Imprisonment  at  Camden — His  release,  and  death 
of  his  brother  and  mother — Pecuniary  difficulties — Commences 
the  study  of  the  law— Is  licensed  to  practice— Appointed  So 
licitor  for  the  western  district  of  North  Carolina — Arrival  at 
Nashville.  1789 17 


CHAPTER  II. 

1789.  Early  settlements  on  the  Cumberland — Hardships  en 
dured  by  Jackson,  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties—' 
Escape  from  the  Indians — His  presence  of  mind — Adventures 
in  the  wilderness — Locates  at  Nashville — Fruitless  attempts 
to  intimidate  him — Indian  depredations — Becomes  acquainted 
with  Mrs.  Robards — His  marriage — A  member  of  the  Ten 
nessee  convention — Chosen  a  senator  in  Congress— r-His  re 
signation,  and  appointment  as  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
— Firmness  and  decision  of  character  as  a  judge — Difficulty 
with  Governor  Sevier — Resigns  his  office,  and  devotes  him-, 
self  to  agricultural  pursuits.  1804  ..........  29 


12  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PAGJ 

1804.  Fondness  of  General  Jackson  for  horses — Duel  with 
Dickinson — Forms  a  mercantile  partnership — Pecuniary  diffi 
culties — Adventure  with  the  Choctaw  agent — Affray  with 
Colonel  Benton — Their  subsequent  friendship  for  each  other 
— Hostilities  with  Great  Britain — Declaration  of  war  in  1812 
— Jackson  raises  a  volunteer  force — Their  services  accepted 
by  government — Ordered  to  embark  for  Natchez — Arrival  of 
the  troops,  and  order  to  disband  them — His  disobedience  of 
orders — Attempt  of  General  Wilkinson  to  prevent  the  return 
of  the  volunteers — Object  of  the  order — Jackson's  decision 
exhibited — Shares  the  privations  of  the  soldiers  on  their  home 
ward  march — Return,  and  disbandment  of  his  force.  1813  .  42 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1813.  Depredations  committed  by  the  Creeks  on  the  borders 
of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky — Attack  on  Fort  Mimms — Pre 
parations  for  war — Jackson  calls  out  the  volunteers  and  militia 
— Address  to  the  troops — Takes  the  field — Enforces  strict 
military  discipline — Rapid  march  to  Huntsville — Delay  in  for 
warding  supplies — Thwarted  in  his  movements  by  General 
Cocke — Jealousy  of  the  latter — Scarcity  of  provisions — Efforts 
of  Jackson  to  procure  supplies — Address  to  the  soldiers  on 
entering  the  enemy's  country — Arrival  at  the  Ten  Islands — 
Difficulty  with  the  contractors — Destitute  condition  of  the 
army — Battle  of  Tallushatchee — Humanity  of  Jackson — His 
adoption  of  an  Indian  boy.  1813 55 


CHAPTER  V. 

1813.  Erection  of  Fort  Strother,  and  establishment  of  a  depot 
on  the  Coosa — Continued  difficulties  growing  out  of  the  move 
ments  of  General  Cocke — Battle  of  Talladega — Gallant  con 
duct  of  Colonel  Carroll  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dyer — Desti 
tution  of  the  army — Generosity  and  benevolence  of  Jackson 
— His  example  in  submitting  to  privations — Anecdote  of  the 
acorns — Discontent  among  the  troops — Mutiny  suppressed  by 
his  firmness  and  resolution- — His  appeal  to  the  contractors  to 
furnish  supplies — Answer  to  the  overtures  of  peace  made  by 
the  Hillabee  tribes — Efforts  to  raise  additional  troops — Letter 
to  his  friend  in  Tennessee — Demand  of  the  volunteers  to  be 
discharged,  on  the  ground  that  their  term  of  service  had  ex 
pired — Reply  of  Jackson — -His  unflinching  determination — 
Suppression  of  the  mutiny,  and  return  of  the  volunteers.  1813  68 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  VI. 

FAGS 

1814.  Amval  of  recruits— Battle  of  Emuckfaw— Return  of  the 
army— Ambuscade  of  the  enemy — Battle  of  Enotochopco — 
Bravery  of  General  Carroll  and  Lieutenant  Armstrong— Re 
turn  to  Fort  Strother— The  army  reinforced— Battle  of  Toho- 
peka — Kindness  of  Jackson  to  a  prisoner — Preparations  to 
attack  Hoithlewalle — Address  to  the  troops — The  Indians 
abandon  their  towns  at  Jackson's  approach — Termination  of 
the  campaign — Operations  of  the  British  at  Pensacola— Con 
duct  of  the  Spanish  governor — Proclamation  of  Colonel  Ni- 
cholls — Unsuccessful  attack  on  FortBowyer — Jackson  marches 
to  Pensacola  and  demolishes  it.  1814 87 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1814.  Jackson  marches  to  New  Orleans— Preparations  to  de 
fend  the  city — Surrounded  by  traitors  and  spies — Situation 
of  the  country — Strength  of  the  British  expedition — Firmness 
of  Jackson — The  city  placed  under  martial  law — Vigorous 
measures  rendered  absolutely  necessary — Landing  of  the 
British — Alarm  in  the  city — Jackson  determines  to  attack 
them — Disposition  of  his  forces — Battle  on  the  night  of  the 
twenty-third  of  December — Gallant  conduct  of  the  American 
troops — Repulse  of  the  British — The  complete  triumph  of  the 
Americans  prevented  by  the  darkness  of  the  night — Adven 
ture  of  Colonels  Dyer  and  Gibson — The  Americans  fall  back 
to  a  new  position,  and  prepare  to  fortify  it — Effect  of  the  bat 
tle.  1814  ....  99 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

1814.  The  Americans  fortify  their  position — Jackson's  peremp 
tory  orders  to  Major  Lacoste — Defence  of  the  Pass  Barrataria 
— Captain  Lafitte — Attack  made  by  the  British  on  the  28th 
of  December — Defensive  preparations  hastened — Death  of 
Colonel  Henderson — Disaffection  in  New  Orleans — Informa 
tion  communicated  to  the  British  fleet — Stratagem  of  Mr. 
Shields — Conduct  of  the  Louisiana  legislature — Patriotic 
reply  of  Jackson  to  the  committee — Attempt  to  supply  his 
troops  with  arms — Gallantry  of  Colonel  Hinds — Cannonade 
on  the  1st  of  January — Position  of  the  American  army — 
Jackson's  orders  to  the  Frenchman  to  defend  his  property — 
Defences  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river — Caution  of  Jackson 
in  concealing  the  number  of  his  troops.  1815 117 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PAG* 

1815.  Arrival  of  fresh  troops  from  Kentucky — Preparations  of 
both  armies  for  an  attack — The  disposition  of  Jackson's  force 
made  known  to  the  British  by  a  deserter — Success  of  Colonel 
Thornton  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river — Eagerness  of  the 
American  soldiers  for  an  engagement — Activity  and  energy 
of  Jackson — The  eighth  of  January — Advance  of  the  British 
towards  the  American  intrenchments — Destructive  fire  from 
the  fortifications — Repulse  of  the  British — Death  of  Sir  Ed 
ward  Packenham — Terrible  havoc  made  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy — Bravery  of  Colonel  Ronnie — -Number  of  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  battle — Watchword  of  the  British  army — . 
Generous  benevolence  of  the  American  soldiers — An  armistice 
proposed  by  General  Lambert  and  accepted,  with  modifica 
tions — Brave  conduct  of  the  American  troops — Want  of  arms 
prevents  Jackson  from  capturing  the  whole  British  army — 
English  version  of  the  battle.  1815 141 

CHAPTER  X. 

1815.  Gratitude  of  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  to  their  deli 
verer — Jackson  strengthens  his  position — Anonymous  publi 
cations  inciting  his  troops  to  revolt — The  author  placed  in 
arrest — Judge  Hall  ordered  into  custody  for  his  interference — 
The  British  retire  to  their  shipping — Treaty  of  peace  signed — • 
Cessation  of  hostilities — Jackson  submits  to  the  fine  imposed 
by  the  judge — Farewell  address  to  his  troops. — Return  to 
Nashville — Depredations  committed  by  the  Seminole  Indians 
— Jackson  ordered  to  take  command  of  the  southern  army — 
Enters  Florida  with  his  army — Execution  of  Arbuthnot  and 
Ambrister — Oapture  of  St.  Marks  and  Pensacola — Termina 
tion  of  hostilities — Jackson's  conduct  approved — Appointed 
governor  of  Florida — Administration  of  his  judicial  duties. — 
ifficulty  with  the  Ex-governor,.Callava — Jackson's  ill  health 
compels  him  to  return  home.  1821 158 

CHAPTER  XL 

1821.  Jackson  resigns  his  office  in  the  army — Testimonials  of 
public  respect — A  candidate  for  the  Presidency — Defeated  in 

the   House   of  Representatives — Election   of  "Mr.   Adams 

Course  of  Jackson's  1'riends — His  renomination — Warmth  of 
the  contest — Elected  president — Death  of  his  wife — Kindness 
to  her  relatives — His  first  message — Veto  of  the  Maysville 
road  bill — Dissolution  of  the  Cabinet — Opposition  to  the 
United  States  Bank — Veto  message — Re-elected  president — 
Difficulty  with  the  nullifiers — Assaulted  by  Lieutenant  Ran 
dolph — Removal  of  the  deposits — Public  excitement — Con 
troversy  with  France — Retirement  to  private  life.  1837  .  .  173 


CONTENTS.  16 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PAGE 

.1837.  Ill  health  of  General  Jackson— Arrival  at  the  Hermit 
age — Influence  with  his  party — Friendly  to  the  annexation 
of  Texas — His  occupations — Embarrassed  in  his  pecuniary 
affairs — Refunding  of  the  fine  imposed  by  Judge  Hall — Failure 
of  his  health — His  last  illness — His  Christian  resignation  and 
death — Honors  paid  to  his  memory — Remarks  of  Reverdy 
Johnson — Speech  of  Daniel  Webster — Character  of  Jackson — 
His  qualifications  as  a  soldier  and  statesman — Attachment 
to  his  friends — His  personal  appearance — His  patriotism. 
1845 186 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Bancroft's  Eulogy        196 

Inaugural  Address        221 

Maysville  Road  Veto        225 

Message  to  the  United  States  Senate  on  returning  the  Bank  Bill  241 
Proclamation  on  the  Nullification  Question      ......  263 

Extracts  from  the  Protest 287 

Sixth  Annual  Message          306 

^Message  in  relation  to  Texas 344 

Farewell  Address        350 

Letter  to  Commodore  Elliott,  declining  a  Sarcophagus     .     .     .  373 

Last  Will  and  Testament 375 

Dr.  Bethune's  Sermon  .....  381 


14  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1815.  Arrival  of  fresh  troops  from  Kentucky  —  Preparations  of 
both  armies  for  an  attack  —  The  disposition  of  Jackson's  force 
made  known  to  the  British  by  a  deserter  —  Success  of  Colonel 
Thornton  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  —  Eagerness  of  the 
American  soldiers  for  an  engagement  —  Activity  and  energy 
of  Jackson  —  The  eighth  of  January  —  Advance  of  the  British 
towards  the  American  intrenchments  —  Destructive  fire  from 
the  fortifications  —  .Repulse  of  the  British  —  Death  of  Sir  Ed 
ward  Packenham  —  Terrible  havoc  made  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy—  Bravery  of  Colonel  Ronnie—  Number  of  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  battle  —  Watchword  of  the  British  army  _ 
Generous  benevolence  of  the  American  soldiers  —  An  armistice 
proposed  by  General  Lambert  and  accepted,  with  modifica 
tions  —  Brave  conduct  of  the  American  troops  —  Want  of  arms 
prevents  Jackson  from  capturing  the  whole  British  army  — 
English  version  of  the  battle.  1815  .........  141 


CHAPTER  X. 

1815.  Gratitude  of  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  to  their  deli 
verer  —  Jackson  strengthens  his  position  —  Anonymous  publi 
cations  inciting  his  troops  to  revolt  —  The  author  placed  in 
arrest  —  Judge  Hall  ordered  into  custody  for  his  interference  _ 
The  British  retire  to  their  shipping  —  Treaty  of  peace  signed  _ 
Cessation  of  hostilities  —  Jackson  submits  to  the  fine  imposed 
by  the  judge  —  .1'arewell  address  to  his  troops.  —  Return  to 
Nashville  —  -Depredations  committed  by  the  Seminole  Indians 
•  —  Jackson  ordered  to  take  command  of  the  southern  army  — 
Enters  Florida  with  his  army  —  Execution  of  Arbutlmot  and 
Ambrister  —  Gapture  of  St.  Marks  and  Pensacola  —  Termina 
tion  of  hostilities  —  Jackson's  conduct  approved  —  Appointed 
governor  of  Florida  —  Administration  of  his  judicial  duties  _ 
Difficulty  with  the  Ex-governor,.  Callava—  Jackson's  ill  health 
compels  him  to  return  home.  1821  .........  158 


CHAPTER  XL 

1821.  Jackson  resigns  his  office  in  the  army  —  Testimonials  of 
public  respect  —  A  candidate  for  the  Presidency  —  Defeated  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  —  Election  of  "Mr.  Adams  _ 
Course  of  Jackson's  friends  —  His  renominntion  —  Warmth  of 
the  contest—  Elected  president—  Death  of  his  wife—  Kindness 
to  her  relatives—  His  first  message—  Veto  of  the  Maysville 
road  bill  —  Dissolution  of  the  Cabinet  —  Opposition  to  the 
United  States  Bank  —  Veto  message  —  Re-elected  president  _ 
Difficulty  with  the  nullifiers  —  Assaulted  by  Lieutenant  Ran 
dolph  —  Removal  of  the  deposits  —  Public  excitement  —  Con 
troversy  with  France  —  Retirement  to  private  life.  1837  .  .  173 


CONTENTS.  16 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PAGE 

J837.  Ill  health  of  General  Jackson— Arrival  at  the  Hermit 
age — Influence  with  his  party — Friendly  to  the  annexation 
of  Texas — His  occupations — Embarrassed  in  his  pecuniary 
affairs — Refunding  of  the  fine  imposed  by  Judge  Hall — Failure 
of  his  health — His  last  illness — His  Christian  resignation  and 
death — Honors  paid  to  his  memory — Remarks  of  Reverdy 
Johnson — Speech  of  Daniel  Webster — Character  of  Jackson — 
His  qualifications  as  a  soldier  and  statesman — Attachment 
to  his  friends — His  personal  appearance — His  patriotism. 
1845 186 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Bancroft's  Eulogy        196 

Inaugural  Address        221 

Maysville  Road  Veto        225 

Message  to  the  United  States  Senate  on  returning  the  Bank  Bill  241 

Proclamation  on  the  Nullification  Question 263 

Extracts  from  the  Protest 287 

Sixth  Annual  Message          306 

JMessage  in  relation  to  Texas 344 

Farewell  Address        350 

Letter  to  Commodore  Elliott,  declining  a  Sarcophagus     .     .     .  373 

Last  Will  and  Testament 375 

Dr.  Bethune's  Sermon 381 


LIFE 


OF 


ANDREW  JACKSON, 


CHAPTER  I. 

1767.  Introductory  remarks — Birth  and  parentage  of  Andrew  Jack 
son  —His  early  life — Influence  of  his  mother — War  of  the  Revolu 
tion — ColonelBuford  surprised  and  defeated — Martial  spirit  of  tho 
colonist%— Andrew  Jackson  joins  the  American  army — Heroic  con 
duct  in  defending  Captain  Lands — Surprise  of  the  Waxhaw  settlers 
at  their  rendezvous — Escape  and  capture  of  Jackson — His  stratagem 
to  prevent  the  seizure  of  Thompson — Imprisonment  at  Camden — 
His  release,  and  death  of  his  brother  and  mother — Pecuniary  diffi 
culties — Commences  the  study  of  the  law — Is  licensed  to  practice 
— Appointed  Solicitor  for  the  western  district  of  North  Carolina- 
Arrival  at  Nashville.  1789. 

IN  seasons  of  high  party  excitement,  it  is  not  to  be  ex 
pected,  that  full  and  impartial  justice  will  at  all  times  be 
rendered  to  the  statesman  or  politician.  There  is  an 
ancient  French  maxim,  which  cautions  the  legislator  to 
"  think  of  the  rising  generation,  rather  than  of  that  which 
is  passed."  It  is  not  amid  the  prejudices  and  jealousies 
of  the  present,  but  in  the  enlightened  judgment  of  the  far- 
off  future  that  he  must  look  for  his  reward.  Cotempo- 
raneous  history  is  always  hasty,  and  often  unjust,  in  its 
conclusions;  but  "the  sober  second  thought"  of  posterity 
is  ever  prompt  to  repair  the  wrong.  It  was  the  fortune  of 
the  subject  of  these  memoirs  to  occupy,  for  a  series  of 
years,  a  prominent  place  in  the  public  estimation,  as  the 
leader  of  the  political  party  to  which  he  was  attached. 
During  that  time,  much  was  said,  both  for  and  against 
him,  which  it  would  scarcely  become  the  dignity  of  history 


18  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

to  record  ;  nor  would  his  most  devoted  admirer  ask,  at  this 
day,  that  any  thing  should  be  written  concerning  him,  ex 
cept  what  was  conceived  in  the  same  spirit  that  prompted 
the  memorable  remark  of  the  iron-hearted  Cromwell  to 
young  Lely,  "  Paint  me  as  I  am !"  His  death  has 
hushed  the  embittered  passions  of  the  hour,  and  public 
opinion  has  already  settled  down  upon  a  conviction  highly 
favorable  to  his  memory.  Few  men  have  ever  lived,  who 
exhibited,  in  a  more  remarkable  degree,  those  salient 
points  of  character,  calculated  to  enforce  attention  and 
respect,  or  possessed  those  peculiar  traits  of  disposition, 
which  are  sure  to  inspire  the  warm  and  devoted  attach 
ment  of  personal  friends.  His  life  and  his  character,  both  as 
a  public  and  private  citizen,  the  storied  incidents  of  his 
military  career,  and  the  important  services  rendered  to 
the  country,  are  now  regarded,  by  general  consent,  as  the 
common  property  of  the  nation.  Like  truly  great  men, 
he  has  left  the  impress  of  his  mind  upon  the  age  in  which 
he  lived  ;  and  there  is  not  a  single  American,  whose  heart 
is  alive  to  the  emotions  of  patriotism,  but  feels  it  beat  with 
a  quicker  and  warmer  glow,  at  the  mention  of  his  honored 
name. 

Andrew  Jackson  was  descended  from  a  Scotch  family, 
who  emigrated  to  the  north  of  Ireland,  at  a  very  remote 
period.  His  ancestors  suffered  many  hardships,  on  ac 
count  of  the  cruel  and  arbitrary  exactions  of  the  English 
government.  The  continuance  of  these  grievances,  which 
at  times  almost  passed  the  limits  of  human  endurance,  in 
duced  his  father,  Andrew  Jackson,  after  whom  he  was 
named,  to  emigrate  to  this  country,  with  his  wife  and  two 
sons,  Hugh  and  Robert,  in  the  year  1705.  He  landed  at 
Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  and  shortly  afterwards  pur 
chased  a  tract  of  land,  in  what  was  then  called  the  "  Wax- 
haw  settlement,"  about  forty-live  miles  above  Camden, 
and  near  the  boundary  line  of  North  Carolina,  where  he 
settled  with  his  family.  His  son,  Andrew,  was  born  on 
the  15th  day  of  March,  1707,  about  two  years  subsequent 
to  the  arrival  of  his  parents  in  this  country. 

Soon  after  the  birth  of  young  Andrew,  his  father  died 
leaving  him,  and  his  two  brothers,  to  the  sole  care  am 


HIS   YOUTH.  19 

guardianship  of  their  mother,  who  appears  to  have  been 
a  most  exemplary  woman.  She  possessed  many  excellent 
qualities,  both  of  head  and  heart ;  and  her  children  were, 
early  in  life,  deeply  imbued  with  the  straight  forward 
resoluteness  of  purpose,  .and  Spartan  heroism  of  character, 
for  which  she  was  distinguished.  Among  the  many  noble 
mothers,  whose  sons  have  reaped  the  rich  harvest  of  re- 
own  springing  from  the  seed  planted  by  their  hands, 
one  deserve  higher  praise  or  commendation.  To  the 
lessons  she  inculcated  on  the  youthful  minds  of  her  sons, 
may,  in  a  great  measure,  be  attributed  that  fixed  opposi 
tion  to  British  tyranny  and  oppression,  which  they  after 
wards  manifested.  Often  would  she  spend  the  winter 
evenings,  in  recounting  to  them  the  sufferings  of  their 
grandfather  at  the  siege  of  Carrickfergus,  and  the  oppres 
sions  exercised  by  the  nobility  of  Ireland  over  the  laboring 
poor ;  impressing  it  upon  them  as  a  first  duty,  to  expend 
their  lives,  if  it  should  become  necessary,  in  defending 
and  supporting  the  natural  rights  of  man. 

As  they  inherited  but  a  small  patrimony  from  their 
father,  it  was  impossible  that  all  the  sons  could  receive  an 
expensive  education.  The  two  eldest,  therefore,  were 
only  taught  the  rudiments  of  their  mother  tongue,  at  a 
common  country  school.  But  Andrew,  being  intended 
by  his  mother  for  the  ministry,  was  sent  to  a  flourishing 
academy  at  the  Waxhaw  meeting-house,  superintended 
by  Mr.  Humphries.  Here  he  was  placed  on  the  study 
of  the  dead  languages,  and  continued  until  the  revolu 
tionary  war,  extending  its  ravages  into  that  section  of 
South  Carolina  where  he  then  was,  rendered  it  necessary 
that  every  one  should  either  betake  himself  to  the  Ameri 
can  standard,  seek  protection  with  the  enemy,  or  flee  his 
country. 

When  the  revolutionary  war  first  broke  out,  in  1775, 
Andrew  Jackson  was  but  eight  years  old,  and  it  was  a 
long  time  before  its  horrors  were  felt  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  his  residence.  But  from  his  youth  up,  he  was 
familiar  with  the  story  of  the-  repeated  aggressions  and 
insults,  which  forced  the  American  colonists  to  resort  to 
the  last  remedy  of  an  injured  people.  He  eagerly  listened 


20  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

to  the  thrilling1  accounts  that  reached  his  quiet  neighbor 
hood,  of  the  heroic  deeds  performed  by  his  brave  country 
men,  at  Lexington  and  Bunker-hill,  Saratoga  and  Mon- 
mouth ;  and  while  he  listened,  his  heart  burned  with  the 
fire  of  an  incipient  patriotism,  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  his 
native  land.  The  young-  and  middle-aged  men  around 
him  were  constantly  training  themselves  for  any  emer 
gency,  and  his  mother  encouraged,  rather  than  checked, 
his  growing1  passion  for  a  soldier's  life,  instead  of  the 
peaceful  profession  for  which  he  was  designed.  It  was  a 
critical  time  in  the  destinies  of  the  infant  republic,  and  she 
required  the  aid  of  every  stout  hand  and  strong  heart, 
whether  it  beat  beneath  the  surplice  of  the  priest,  or  the 
rough  habiliments  of  the  back-woodsman. 

An  opportunity  was  soon  afforded,  for  him  to  gratify  his 
ardent  desire  of  mingling  in  the  deadly  strife  which  had 
imbrued  the  American  soil  with  blood.  South  Carolina 
was  invaded  by  the  British,  under  General  Prevost,  in 
1779,  and  in  the  month  of  May  of  the  following  year,  Co 
lonel  Buford  and  about  four  hundred  men  under  his  com 
mand  were  overtaken  by  Colonel  Tarleton,  who  had  been 
despatched  to  cut  off  the  party  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  with 
a  force  of  seven  hundred  men,  and  an  indiscriminate 
slaughter  ensued,  although  little  or  no  resistance  was  of 
fered.  Many  begged  for  quarter  in  vain.  The  only  an 
swer  was  a  stroke  of  the  sabre,  or  a  thrust  of  the  bayonet. 
This  act  of  atrocious  barbarity  was  followed  by  others  of 
a  similar  character.  Men  could  not  sleep  in  their  own 
houses  unguarded,  without  danger  of  surprise  and  murder. 
Even  boys,  who  were  stout  enough  to  carry  muskets,  were 
induced,  by  a  regard  for  their  own  safety,  as  well  as  from 
inclination,  to  incur  the  dangers  of  men.  Young  Jackson 
and  his  brothers  had  their  guns  and  horses,  and  were 
almost  always  in  company  with  some  armed  party  of  their 
kindred  or  neighbors.  Hugh,  who  was  the  eldest  of  the 
three,  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Stono,  and  lost  his  life, 
from  the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather  and  the  fatigue  of 
the  day.  Shortly  after  this  event,  Mrs.  Jackson  retired 
before  the  invading  army,  with  her  two  remaining  sons, 
Robert  and  Andrew,  into  North  Carolina.  She  remained 


ATTEMPTED    SURPRISE    OF    CAPTAIN    LANDS.  21 

there  but  a  short  time,  and,  on  returning  to  the  Waxhaws, 
both  Robert  and  Andrew  joined  the  American  army,  and 
were  present  at  the  battle  of  Hanging  Rock,  on  the  sixth 
of  August,  1780,  in  which  the  corps  to  which  they  be 
longed  particularly  distinguished  itself.  In  the  month 
of  September,  Mrs.  Jackson  and  her  sons,  with  most  of  the 
Waxhaw  settlers,  were  again  compelled  to  retire  into 
North  Carolina  ;  from  which  they  returned  in  February, 
1781,  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
crossed  the  Yadkin. 

It  was  during  the  trying  scenes  of  this  period  of  the 
revolutionary  struggle,  that  Andrew  Jackson  gave  the 
first  illustration  of  that  quickness  of  thought,  and  prompt 
itude  of  action,  which  afterwards  placed  him  in  the  front 
rank  of  military  commanders.  A  Whig  captain,  named 
Lands,  who  had  been  absent  from  home  for  some  time, 
desired  to  spend  a  night  with  his  family.  Robert  and 
Andrew  Jackson,  with  one  of  the  Crawfords,  and  five 
others,  constituted  his  guard.  There  were  nine  men  and 
seven  muskets.  Having  no  special  apprehensions  of  an 
attack,  they  lay  down  oA  their  arms,  and,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  a  British  deserter,  who  was  one  of  the  party, 
went  to  sleep.  Lands'  house  was  in  the  centre  of  an 
enclosed  yard,  and  had  two  doors,  facing  east  and  west. 
Before  the  east  door  stood  a  forked  apple-tree.  In  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  yard  were  a  corncrib  and  stable 
under  one  roof,  ranging  east  and  west.  On  the  south  was 
a  wood,  and  through  it  passed  the  road  by  which  the 
house  was  approached. 

A  party  of  Tories  became  apprized  of  Lands'  return, 
and  determined  to  surprise  and  kill  him.  Approaching 
through  the  wood,  and  tying  their  horses  behind  the 
stable,  they  divided  into  two  parties,  one  advancing  round 
"the  east  end  of  the  stable  towards  the  east  door  of  the 
house,  and  the  other  round  the  west  end  towards  the  west 
door.  At  this  moment,  the  wakeful  soldier,  hearing  a 
noise  in  the  direction  of  the  stable,  went  out  to  see  what 
was  the  matter,  and  perceived  the  party  which  were  en 
tering  the  yard  at  the  east  end  of  the  building.  Running 
back  in  terror,  he  seized  Andrew  Jackson,  who  was  near- 


22  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

est  the  door,  by  the  hair,  exclaiming,  "  The  Tories  are 
upon  us."  Our  young  hero  ran  out,  and,  putting  his  gun 
through  the  fork  of  the  apple-tree,  hailed  the  approaching 
band.  Having  repeated  his  hail  without  an  answer,  and 
perceiving  the  party  rapidly  advancing  and  but  a  few  rods 
distant,  he  fired.  A  volley  was  returned,  which  killed  the 
soldier,  who,  having  aroused  the  inmates  of  the  house,  had 
followed  young  Jackson,  and  was  standing  near  him.  The 
other  band  of  Tories  had  now  emerged  from  the  west  end 
of  the  stable,  and  mistaking  the  discharge  of  the  advance 
party,  then  nearly  on  a  line  between  them  and  the  apple- 
tree,  for  the  fire  of  a  sallying  party  from  the  house,  com 
menced  a  sharp  fire  upon  their  own  friends.  Thus  both 
parties  were  brought  to  a  stand.  Young  Andrew,  after 
discharging  his  gun,  returned  into  the  house ;  and,  with 
two  others,  commenced  a  fire  from  the  west  door,  where 
both  of  his  companions  were  shot  down,  one  of  them  with 
a  mortal  wound.  The  Tories  still  kept  up  the  fire  upon 
each  other,  as  well  as  upon  the  house,  until,  startled  by 
the  sound  of  a  cavalry  bugle  in  the  distance,  they  betook 
themselves  to  their  horses,  and  fled.  The  charge  was 
sounded  by  a  Major  Isbel,  who  had  not  a  man  with  him, 
but,  hearing  the  firing,  and  knowing  that  Lands  was  at- 
otcked,  he  gave  the  blast  upon  his  trumpet  to  alarm  the 
assailants. 

The  British  commander,  having  been  advised  of  the 
return  of  the  Waxhaw  settlers,  despatched  Major  Coffin, 
with  a  corps  of  light  dragoons,  a  company  of  infantry,  and 
a  considerable  number  of  Tories,  for  their  capture  and 
destruction.  Hearing  of  their  approach,  the  settlers  ap 
pointed  the  Waxhaw  meeting-house  as  a  place  of  rendez 
vous,  and  about  forty  of  them,  among  whom  were  the 
two  Jacksons,  had  assembled  there  on  the  day  appointed, 
and  were  waiting  for  a  friendly  company  under  Captain1 
Nisbett.  When  the  enemy  approached,  their  commanding 
officer  placed  the  Tories  in  front,  in  order  to  conceal  the 
dragoons  ;  and  the  little  band  of  settlers  were  completely 
deceived  by  the  stratagem.  Supposing  the  reinforcement 
for  which  they  had  been  waiting  was  approaching,  they 
were  prepared  to  welcome  them  as  friends,  but  the  mo- 


TAKEN    PRISONER    BY   THE    BRITISH  33 

ment  after  they  discovered  their  unfortunate  mistake. 
Eleven  of  the  number  were  taken  prisoners,  and  the  rest 
sought  for  safety  in  flight.  The  two  Jacksons  were 
among  those  who  escaped,  and  temporarily  eluded  pur 
suit.  They  remained  together  during  the  ensuing  night, 
and  on  the  approach  of  morning  concealed  themselves  in 
a  thicket  on  the  bank  of  a  small  creek,  not  far  from  the 
ouse  of  Lieutenant  Crawford,  who  had  been  wounded 
nd  made  prisoner.  Becoming  very  hungry,  they  left 
their  horses  in  the  wood,  and  ventured  out  to  Craw 
ford's  for  food.  But  a  party  of  Tories,  who  were  well 
acquainted  with  the  country,  and  the  passes  through 
the  forest,  unfortunately  passed  the  creek,  in  the  mean 
time,  at  the  very  point  where  the  horses  and  baggage  had 
been  left ;  and,  guided  by  one  of  their  number,  whose 
name  was  Johnson,  they  approached  the  house,  in  com 
pany  with  a  small  body  of  dragoons,  and  presented  them 
selves  at  the  door,  before  the  young  Jacksons  were  aware 
of  their  approach. 

Resistance  and  flight  were  alike  hopeless,  and  neither 
was  attempted.  Mrs.  Crawford,  with  several  children, 
one  of  whom  was  at  the  breast,  were  the  inmates  of  the 
house.  A  scene  of  destruction  immediately  took  place.  All 
the  glass,  crockery,  and  other  furniture,  were  dashed  in 
pieces.  The  beds  were  ripped  open,  and  the  feathers 
scattered  to  the  winds.  The  clothing  of  the  whole  family, 
men,  women,  and  children,  was  cut  and  torn  into  frag 
ments.  Even  the  children's  clothes  shared  the  fate  of 
the  rest.  Mercy  for  the  wife  and  little  ones  of  a  hus 
band  and  father,  who  was  already  wounded  and  in 
their  hands,  and  doomed  to  imprisonment,  if  not  death, 
touched  not  the  hearts  of  these  remorseless  men,  and  no 
thing  was  left  to  the  terrified  and  wretched  family,  but  the 
clothes  they  had  on,  and  a  desolate  habitation.  No  attempt 
was  made,  by  the  British  officer  commanding,  to  arrest 
this  destruction.  While  it  was  in  progress,  he  ordered 
Andrew  Jackson  to  clean  his  muddy  boots.  The  young 
soldier  refused,  claiming  to  be  treated  with  the  respec* 
due  to  a  prisoner  of  war.  Instead  of  admiring  this  manly 
rpirit  in  one  so  young,  the  cowardly  ruffian  struck  at  hi 


24  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

head  with  his  sword ;  but,  throwing  up  his  left  hand,  the 
intended  victim  received  a  gash  upon  it,  the  scar  of  which 
he  carried  to  the  grave.  Turning  to  Robert  Jackson,  the 
officer  ordered  him  to  perform  the  menial  task,  and,  re 
ceiving  a  like  refusal,  aimed  a  furious  blow  at  his  head 
also,  and  inflicted  a  wound  from  which  he  never  recovered. 

After  these  exhibitions  of  ferocity,  the  party  set  Andrew 
Jackson  upon  a  horse,  and  ordered  him,  on  pain  of  instant 
death,  to  lead  them  to  the  house  of  a  well-known  Whig, 
by  the  name  of  Thompson.  Apprehending  that  Thomp 
son  was  at  home,  it  occurred  to  his  young  friend  that  he 
might  save  him  by  a  stratagem.  At  that  time,  when  men 
were  at  home,  they  generally  kept  a  look-out  to  avoid  sur 
prise,  and  had  ahorse  ready  for  flight.  Instead  of  leading 
the  party  by  the  usual  route,  young  Andrew  took  them 
through  woods  and  fields,  which  brought  them  over  an 
eminence  in  sight  of  the  house,  at  the  distance  of  half  a 
mile.  On  reaching  the  summit,  he  beheld  Thompson's 
horse  tied  to  his  rack,  a  sure  sign  that  his  owner  was  at 
home.  The  British  dragoons  darted  forward,  and,  in 
breathless  apprehension,  Andrew  Jackson  kept  his  eye 
upon  Thompson's  horse.  With  inexpressible  joy,  he  saw 
Thompson,  while  the  dragoons  wrere  still  a  few  hundred 
yards  distant,  rush  out,  mount  his  horse,  dash  into  the 
creek  which  ran  foaming  by,  and  in  a  minute  ascend  the 
opposite  bank.  He  was  then  out  of  pistol  shot,  and  as 
his  pursuers  dared  not  swim  the  rapid  stream,  he  stopped 
long  enough  to  shout  execration  and  defiance,  and  then 
rode  leisurely  off. 

Andrew  Jackson  and  his  brother,  with  about  twenty 
other  prisoners,  were  mounted  on  captured  horses,  and 
started  for  Camden,  over  forty  miles  distant.  Not  a  mouth 
ful  of  food,  or  drop  of  water,  was  given  them  on  the  route. 
The  streams  which  they  forded  had  been  swollen  by  re 
cent  rains  ;  but  when  they  stooped  to  take  up  a  little  wa 
ter  in  the  palms  of  their  hands,  to  assuage  their  burning 
thirst,  they  were  ordered  to  desist  by  the  brutal  guard. 

Arrived  at  Carnden,  they  were  confined,  with  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  other  prisoners,  in  a  redoubt  surround 
ing  the  jail,  and  overlooking  the  country  to  the  north.  No 


IMPRISONMENT     AT     CAMDEN.  25 

attention  was  paid  to  their  wounds  or  their  wants.  They 
had  no  beds,  nor  any  substitute  ;  and  their  only  food  was 
a  scanty  supply  of  bad  bread.  They  were  robbed  of  2 
portion  of  their  clothing,  taunted  by  Tories  with  being  re 
bels,  and  assured  that  they  would  be  hanged.  Andrew 
Jackson  himself  was  stripped  of  his  jacket  and  shoes. 
With  a  refinement  of  cruelty,  the  Jacksons  and  their  cou 
sin,  Thomas  Crawford,  two  of  them  severely  wounded, 
were  separated  as  soon  as  their  relationship  was  known, 
and  kept  in  perfect  ignorance  of  each  other's  condition  or 
fate.  In  aggravation  of  their  sufferings,  the  small-pox 
made  its  appearance  among  them.  Not  a  step  was  taken 
to  stay  its  progress  or  mitigate  its  afflictions.  Without 
physicians  or  nurses,  denied  even  the  kind  attentions  and 
sympathy  of  relatives  who  were  fellow-prisoners,  their 
keepers  left  them  to  perish,  not  only  without  compassion, 
but  with  apparent  satisfaction. 

One  day  Andrew  Jackson  was  sunning  himself  in  the 
entrance  of  his  prison,  when  the  officer  of  the  guard,  ap 
parently  struck  with  his  youthful  appearance,  entered 
into  conversation  with  him.  With  characteristic  energy, 
the  fearless  lad  described  to  him  the  condition  of  the  pri 
soners  ;  and  among  the  rest,  their  sufferings  from  the 
scantiness  and  bad  quality  of  their  food.  Immediately 
meat  was  added  to  their  bread,  and  there  was  otherwise  a 
decided  improvement.  The  Provost  was  a  Tory  from 
New  York ;  and  it  was  afterwards  alleged  that  he  with 
held  the  meat  he  had  contracted  to  supply  for  the  support 
of  the  prisoners,  to  feed  a  gang  of  negroes,  which  he  had 
collected  from  the  plantations  of  the  Wrhigs,  with  intent 
to  convert  them  to  his  own  use. 

During  the  confinement  of  the  Waxhaw  prisoners  at 
Camden,  General  Greene  made  his  unsuccessful  attack  on 
the  British  forces  at  that  post  under  Lord  Rawdon.  The 
American  army  was  encamped  on  Hobkirk's  Hill,  about  a 
mile  distant,  and  in  full  view  of  the  redoubt  in  which  the 
prisoners  were  confined.  On  the  morning  of  the  24th  ot 
April,  Andrew  Jackson  became  convinced,  from  what  he 
oaw  and  heard,  that  a  battle  was  soon  to  take  place.  He 
was  exceedingly  anxious  to  witness  the  conflict,  but  the 
2 


26  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

thick  plank  fence  that  extended  around  the  redoubt,  com 
pletely  shut  out  the  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Determined  that  he  would  not  be  foiled  in  his  wish,  he 
set  himself  at  work  with  an  old  razor-blade,  which  had 
been  given  to  the  prisoners  to  eat  their  rations  with,  and 
by  wrorking  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  he  contrived 
to  cut  one  of  the  knots  out  of  a  plank,  and  through  this 
obtained  a  view  of  Greene's  encampment,  and  of  the  san 
guinary  struggle  which  took  place  on  the  following  day. 

In  a  few  days  after  the  battle  before  Carnden,  the  two 
Jacksons  were  released,  in  pursuance  of  a  partial  exchange 
effected  by  the  intercessions  and  exertions  of  their  mother, 
and  Captain  Walker  of  the  militia.  While  he  was  con 
fined  in  prison,  Robert  had  suffered  greatly  from  the  wound 
in  his  head  which  had  never  been  dressed.  Inflamma 
tion  of  the  brain  soon  after  ensued,  which  brought  him 
to  his  grave,  in  a  few  days  after  his  liberation.  The  mo 
ther  also,  worn  out  with  anxiety  and  solicitude  for  her  chil 
dren,  and  her  incessant  efforts  to  relieve  the  sufferings  of 
the  prisoners  who  had  been  brought  from  her  own  neigh 
borhood,  was  taken  sick,  and  expired  in  a  few  week--?, 
near  the  lines  of  the  enemy  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston^ 
These  repeated  afflictions  were  keenly  felt  by  young 
Jackson,  and  it  was  some  time  before  he  entirely  reco 
vered  from  the  shock  occasioned  by  so  sudden  a  bereave 
ment.  He  was  tenderly  attached  to  his  mother  and  bro 
ther,  and  as  they  were  his  only  relatives,  their  death  must 
have  been  a  severe  blow  to  him.  The  buoyancy  of  youth, 
however,  enabled  him  to  beat  up  manfully  against  mis 
fortune,  and  he  soon  after  entered  into  the  enjoyment  of 
his  estate,  which,  though  small,  was  sufficient  to  have 
given  him  a  liberal  education.  Unfortunately  he  had  be 
come  quite  intimate  with  a  number  of  the  most  polished 
citizens  of  Charleston,  who  had  retired  to  the  Waxhaw 
settlement,  during  the  occupation  of  that  city  by  the  Bri 
tish,  and  had  contracted  habits,  and  imbibed  tastes,  which 
it  was  unwise  in  him  to  indulge.  Fie  accompanied  his 
friends  on  their  return  to  Charleston ;  and,  as  he  deter 
mined  not  to  be  outdone  by  his  associates,  his  money  was 
expended  so  profusely  that  his  whole  patrimony  was 


HIS    PECUNIARY   DIFFICULTIES.  27 

soon  exhausted,  and  he  was  left  with  nothing  but  a  fine 
horse  which  he  had  taken  from  the  Waxhaws.  The  ani 
mal  itself  was  at  length  staked  against  a  sum  of  money,  in 
a  game  of  "  rattle  and  snap."  Jackson  won  the  game  ; 
and,  forming  a  sudden  resolution,  he  pocketed  the  money, 
bade  adieu  to  his  friends,  and  returned  home. 

This  occurrence  took  place  in  the  winter  of  1784,  and 
immediately  after  his  return  to  the  Waxhaws,  Jackson 
collected  the  remains  of  his  little  property,  with  the  in 
tention  of  acquiring  a  profession,  and  preparing  himself 
to  enter  on  the  busy  scenes  of  life.  After  pursuing  the 
study  of  the  languages,  and  other  desultory  branches  of 
education,  under  Mr.  McCulloch,  in  that  part  of  Carolina 
which  was  then  called  the  New  Acquisition,  near  Hill's 
Iron  Works,  for  several  months,  he  concluded  to  abandon 
the  pulpit  for  which  he  had  been  designed  by  his  mother, 
and  embraced  the  legal  profession.  In  pursuance  of  this 
determination,  he  repaired  to  Salisbury,  in  North  Carolina, 
and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  under  Spruce  McCay, 
Esq.,  afterwards  one  of  the  judges  of  that  state,  and  sub 
sequently  continued  it  under  Colonel  John  Stokes.  Hav 
ing  remained  at  Salisbury  until  the  winter  of  1786,  he 
obtained  a  license  from  the  judges  to  practice  law,  and 
continued  in  the  state  until  the  spring  of  1788.  As  an 
evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which  his  talents  were  at 
that  time  held  by  the  influential  men  of  North  Carolina, 
he  soon  after  received  from  the  governor  the  appointment 
of  Solicitor  for  the  western  district  of  that  state,  of  which 
the  present  state  of  Tennessee  then  formed  a  part. 

The  observations  he  was  enabled  to  make  while  en 
gaged  in  the  study  of  his  profession,  had  convinced  him 
that  North  Carolina  presented  few  inducements  to  a  young 
attorney  ;  and  recollecting  that  he  stood  solitary  in  life, 
without  relations  to  aid  him  in  the  outset,  when  innumer 
able  difficulties  arise  and  retard  success,  he  determined  to 
seek  a  new  country.  But  for  this  he  might  have  again 
returned  to  his  native  state.  The  death,  however,  of 
every  relation  he  had,  had  wiped  away  all  those  endear 
ing  recollections  and  circumstances  which  attach  the  mind 
to  the  place  of  its  nativity.  The  western  district  of  the 


28  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

state  was  often  spoken  of,  as  presenting  flattering  prospects 
to  adventurers,  and  his  official  appointment  in  that  quarter 
happened  quite  opportunely  to  enable  him  to  carry  out 
his  intention  of  visiting  that  section  of  the  country.  In 
the  year  1788,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he  ac 
companied  Judge  McNairy,  who  was  going  out  to  hold 
the  first  Supreme  Court  that  had  ever  sat  in  the  district. 
Having  reached  the  Holston,  they  ascertained  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  arrive  at  the  time  appointed  for  the  ses 
sion  of  the  court ;  and  therefore  took  up  their  residence, 
for  some  time,  at  Jonesborough,  then  the  principal  seat  of 
justice  in  the  western  district.  They  recommenced  their 
journey,  in  October,  1789,  and  passing  through  an  ex 
tensive  uninhabited  country,  reached  Nashville  in  the 
same  month. 


SETTLEMENTS   ON    THE    CUMBERLAND.  39 


CHAPTER  II. 

1789.  Early  settlements  on  the  Cumberland — Hardships  endured  by 
Jackson,  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties — Escape  from  the 
Indians — His  presence  of  mind — Adventures  in  the  wilderness — 
Locates  at  Nashville — Fruitless  attempts  to  intimidate  him — Indian 
depredations — Becomes  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Robards — His  mar 
riage — A  member  of  the  Tennessee  convention — Chosen  a  senator 
in  Congress — His  resignation,  and  appointment  as  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court — Firmness  and  decision  of  character  as  a  judge — 
Difficulty  with  Governor  Sevier— Resigns  his  office,  and  devotes 
himself  to  agricultural  pursuits.  1804. 

AT  the  time  of  the  first  visit  made  by  Andrew  Jackson, 
to  the  infant  settlements  on  the  Cumberland  river,  includ 
ing  that  at  French  creek,  near  the  present  site  of  Nash 
ville,  almost  all  the  settlers  were  residing  in  stations,  and 
it  was  several  years  before  it  was  entirely  safe  for  them 
to  spread  over  the  country,  and  live  in  separate  cabins. 
While  the  Shawanese  from  the  north  were  carrying  on 
perpetual  war  with  the  settlers  in  Kentucky,  the  Chero- 
kee.s  and  Choctaws  from  the  south  were  wreaking  their 
vengeance  on  the  intruders  upon  their  hunting-grounds 
in  Tennessee.  Twenty-two  times  during  this  period  of 
danger  and  blood,  did  General  Jackson,  in  the  performance 
of  his  public  and  private  duties,  cross  the  wilderness  of 
two  hundred  miles,  then  intervening  between  Jonesborough 
and  the  settlements  on  the  Cumberland.  The  hardships 
and  perils  of  those  journeys  it  is  difficult  for  travellers  at 
the  present  day  duly  to  appreciate. 

In  addition  to  his  rider,  with  a  loaded  rifle  on  his 
shoulder,  the  patient  horse  carried  upon  his  back  his 
master's  blankets,  provisions,  and  equipments.  His  food 
was  the  foliage  of  the  bushes  and  the  native  grass.  At  a 
fire  kindled  from  a  tinder-box,  or  the  flash  of  his  rifle,  the 
traveller  roasted  his  bacon  or  wild  meat  on  a  stick,  and  cut 


30  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

it  with  his  hunter's  knife,  while  his  fingers  served  him 
instead  of  forks.  Wrapped  in  his  blanket,  with  his  rifle 
for  a  bed-fellow,  and  his  horse  standing  by,  he  slept,  with 
no  roof  to  protect  him  but  the  boughs  of  the  forest.  With 
out  a  water-proof  hat  or  India-rubber  coat,  he  was  drenched 
to  the  skin  by  the  falling  rain.  Often  when  he  was  hungry 
with  fasting,  and  a  delicious  pheasant,  or  plump  deer  was 
before  him,  he  dared  not  kill  it,  lest  the  report  of  his  rifle 
should  give  notice  of  his  presence  to  a  lurking  savage. 

At  one  time  when  Jackson  was  traversing  the  wilder 
ness  alone,  he  came,  after  night,  and  amid  torrents  of  rain, 
to  a  creek,  the  noise  of  whose  tumbling  waters,  already 
swollen  to  a  great  depth,  warned  him  not  to  attempt  cross 
ing  the  ford.  Dismounting  from  his  horse,  and  turning  his 
saddle  bottom  upward,  at  the  root  of  a  tree,  he  wrapped 
his  blanket  around  him,  and  with  his  rifle  in  one  hand  and 
his  bridle  in  the  other,  sat  upon  it,  with  his  horse  stand 
ing  before  him,  listening  to  the  roaring  stream  and  the 
pattering  of  the  raindrops  on  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  until 
the  return  of  day  enabled  him  to  proceed. 

On  another  occasion,  he  was  in  company  with  three 
companions,  on  his  way  from  Jonesborough  to  the  Cum 
berland.  They  arrived,  just  after  dark,  at  the  east  side  of 
the  Emory,  where  it  issues  from  the  mountains,  and  dis 
covered  the  fires  of  a  large  party  of  hostile  Indians  on  tht 
opposite  bank.  The  moment  the  discovery  was  made, 
Andrew  Jackson,  as  if  by  instinct,  assumed  the  direction 
of  the  party.  He  enjoined  silence  and  instant  retreat,  and 
having  retired  some  distance  into  the  .mountains,  directed 
his  companions  to  quit  the  road  cautiously  and  at  different 
points,  so  as  to  leave  no  distinct  trace  behind  them,  and  to 
reunite,  and  proceed  up  the  stream,  for  the  purpose  of 
crossing  at  some  ford  above  and  eluding  the  Indians. 
Guided  by  the  noise  of  the  waters,  they  progressed  up 
ward  among  the  mountains  during  the  night,  and,  as  soon 
as  it  was  day,  approached  the  stream.  They  found  it  too 
much  swollen  to  be  forded,  and  too  rapid  to  be  swam. 
Still  apprehensive  of  pursuit,  they  resumed  their  march, 
and  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  reached  a  place 
where  (he  stream,  after  dashing  over  a  rough  precipice. 


INCIDENTS    OF    THE  WILDERNESS.  31 

spread  out  with  a  lake-like  surface,  broken  at  a  short  dis 
tance  below  by  another  cataract.  Here  the  party,  not 
feeling  safe  until  their  trail  was  broken  by  the  intervening 
stream,  determined  to  attempt  a  passage.  Binding  logs 
and  bushes  together"  with  hickory  withes,  they  soon  con 
structed  a  small  raft  sufficient  to  convey  three  or  four  men, 
and  affixed  two  rude  oars  to  the  bows,  and  one  as  a  steer 
ing-oar  or  rudder  to  the  stern.  It  was  cold,  March  weather, 
and  very  important  to  keep  their  clothes,  blankets,  and 
saddles,  as  well  as  their  rifles  and  powder,  from  getting 
wet.  To  that  end,  it  was  concluded  that  Jackson  and  one 
of  his  companions  should  first  cross  with  every  thing  but 
the  horses,  and  that  on  a  second  trip,  they  should  be  swam 
over  alongside  the  raft.  The  craft  was  freighted  accord 
ingly,  and  pushed  off  from  shore  ;  but  in  an  instant,  an 
irresistible  under-current  seized  the  rude  flotilla,  and  hurled 
it  down  the  stream.  For  a  few  moments,  Jackson,  who 
was  at  the  oars,  regardless  of  the  shouts  of  his  companions, 
who  followed  him  downward  on  the  bank,  struggled  with 
the  flood ;  but,  perceiving  that  farther  effort  could  only 
end  in  destruction,  he  reversed  the  direction  of  the  raft,  in 
the  hope  of  reaching  the  shore  he  had  left.  Notwith 
standing  he  exerted  all  his  strength,  he  was  unable  to 
bring  it  to  land  ;  and  although  within  a  few  feet,  the  suck 
of  the  cataract  had  already  seized  it.  A  moment  more, 
and  the  raft,  with  its  passengers,  would  have  b^en  dashed 
in  pieces,  when  Jackson,  wrenching  one  of  his  oars  from 
its  fastenings,  sprung  to  the  stern,  and  bracing  himself 
there,  held  it  out  to  his  companions  on  shore,  who  seized 
it,  and  brought  them  safe  to  land.  Being  reproached 
for  not  heeding  their  first  warnings,  Jackson  coolly  re 
plied  :  "  A  miss  is  as  good  as  a  mile  ;  you  see  how  near  I 
can  graze  danger.  Come  on,  and  I  will  save  you  yet." 
Re-equipping  themselves  and  horses,  they  resumed  their 
march  up  the  stream  ;  and  after  spending  another  night, 
supperless,  in  the  woods,  found  a  ford  the  next  day,  and, 
by  a  circuitous  route,  reached  a  log  cabin  on  the  road, 
about  forty  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  Indian  encampment. 

At  another  time,  he  reached  Bean's  station,  the  rendez 
vous  of  a  party  with  whom  he  was  to  cross  the  wilderness, 


32  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

on  the  evening  after  they  had  left.  Determined  to  overtake 
them,  he  employed  a  guide  well  acquainted  with  Indian 
signs  and  stratagems,  and  travelled  all  night.  Just  before 
day,  they  came  to  the  fires  where  the  party  had  encamped 
the  first  part  of  the  night.  Following  on,  they  soon  dis 
covered,  by  the  trail  in  the  road,  that  a  party  of  Indians, 
about  twenty-two  in  number,  were  in  pursuit  of  their 
friends  ahead.  They  hastened  forward  rapidly,  until  they 
approached  so  near  the  Indians  that  the  water,  which  the 
weight  of  their  tread  had  pressed  out  of  the  rotten  logs, 
was  not  yet  dry.  The  guide  now  refused  to  proceed ; 
but  Jackson  resolved  to  save  his  friends,  or,  at  least,  hazard 
his  life  in  the  attempt.  .Dividing  provisions,  he  and  his 
guide  proceeded  in  opposite  directions,  Jackson  cautiously 
advancing,  and  watching  the  tracks  of  the  Indians.  At 
length  he  saw  where  they  had  turned  off  to  the  right, 
probably  for  the  purpose  of  getting  ahead  of  the  party, 
and  attacking  them  from  ambush,  or  falling  upon  them  in 
the  night.  The  danger  was  imminent,  and  pressing  on 
with  increased  speed,  he  overtook  his  friends  before  dark. 
Having  crossed  a  stream  which  was  very  deep  and  partly 
frozen  over,  they  had  halted  and  kindled  fires,  at  which 
they  were  drying  their  clothes  and  baggage.  Warned  of 
their  danger,  they  immediately  resumed  their  march,  and 
continued  it  without  intermission,  during  the  whole  night 
and  the  next  day.  The  sky  was  overcast  with  clouds, 
and  in  the  evening  it  began  to  snow.  While  upon  the 
route,  they  arrived  at  the  log  cabins  of  a  party  of  hunters, 
and  requested  shelter  and  protection  ;  but,  contrary  to 
their  expectations,  for  such  churlishness  was  unusual 
among  men  of  their  class,  they  were  rudely  refused.  The 
party  were  therefore  compelled  to  bivouac  in  the  forest. 
Jackson  was  wearied  with  his  fatiguing  march,  and  as  he 
had  not  closed  his  eyes  for  two  nights,  he  wrapped  him 
self  in  his  blanket,  and  laid  down  upon  the  ground,  where 
he  slept  soundly.  When  he  awoke  in  the  morning,  he 
found  himself  covered  with  six  inches  of  snow. 

The  party  resumed  their  march,  and  reached  their  des 
tination  in  safety  ;  but  they  afterwards  learned  that  the 


ESTABLISHES   HIMSELF    AT   NASHVILLE.  33 

hunters,  who  had  refused  them  the  hospitality  of  their 
cabins,  had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians. 

In  the  course  of  his  frequent  professional  visits  made 
from  Jonesborough  to  the  settlement  on  the  Cumberland, 
the  advantages  of  Nashville  as  a  suitable  locality  in  which 
to  establish  himself,  attracted  Jackson's  notice,  and  he  con 
cluded  to  make  it  his  future  place  of  residence.  It  had 
not  been  his  original  intention  to  locate  permanently  in 
Tennessee.  His  visit  was  merely  experimental,  and  his 
stay  remained  to  be  determined  by  the  prospect  that  might 
be  disclosed  :  but  finding,  soon  after  his  arrival,  that  a  con 
siderable  opening  was  offered  for  the  success  of  a  young 
attorney,  he  decided  to  remain.  To  a  person  of  refined  feel 
ings,  the  condition  of  things  was  far  from  encouraging.  As 
must  be  the  case  in  all  newly  settled  countries,  society  was 
loosely  formed,  and  united  by  but  few  of  those  ties  which 
have  a  tendency  to  enforce  the  performance  of  moral  duty, 
and  the  execution  of  strict  and  impartial  justice.  The 
young  men  of  the  place,  who  were  adventurers  from  dif 
ferent  sections  of  the  union,  had  become  deeply  indebted 
to  the  merchants.  There  was  but  one  lawyer  in  the 
country,  and  they  had  so  contrived  as  to  retain  him  in 
their  business  ;  the  consequence  was,  that  the  merchants 
were  entirely  deprived  of  the  means  of  enforcing  against 
those  gentlemen  the  execution  of  their  contracts.  In  this 
state  of  things,  Jackson  made  his  appearance  at  Nashville, 
and,  while  the  creditor  class  looked  to  it  with  great  satis 
faction,  the  debtors  were  sorely  displeased.  Applications 
were  immediately  made  to  him  for  his  professional  ser 
vices,  and  on  the  morning  after  his  arival,  he  issued 
seventy  writs.  To  those  prodigal  gentlemen  it  was  an 
alarming  circumstance  ;  their  former  security  was  im 
paired  ;  but  that  it  might  not  wholly  depart,  they  deter 
mined  to  force  him,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  leave  the 
country  ;  and  to  effect  this,  broils  and  quarrels  with  him 
were  resorted  to. 

In  the  state  of  society  then  existing  in  Tennessee,  there 

was  a   grade  of  men  who   prided   themselves  on  their 

courage  and  prowess,  as  mere  bullies,  and  were  always 

ready,  like  the  brute  beast,  to  decide  the  question  of  su- 

2* 


34  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

periority,  by  a  fight.     Equals  in  standing,  who  hated,  but 
dared  not  encounter  the  fearless  Jackson,  stimulated  this 
class  of  men  to  attack,  in  the  hope  of  degrading,  if  they 
could  not  destroy  him.     The  first  man  set  upon  him,  with 
scarcely  a  pretence  of  provocation,  was  a  flax-breaker  of 
great  strength  and  courage,  whom  he  soon  reduced  to 
submission  with  his  own  winding-blades,  the  only  weapon 
within  his  reach.     His  next  encounter  was  at  a  court  in 
Sumner   county,  with  a  noted  bully  whom  he   did   not 
know.     While  he  was  conversing  with  a  gentleman,  on 
business,  the  bully  approached,  and  without  saying  a 
word,  placed  his  heels  on  Jackson's  feet.     Pushing  him 
off,  Jackson  seized  a  slab,  and  with  a  forward  thrust  upon 
the  breast,  brought  him  to  the  ground.     The  interference 
of  the  crowd  put  an  end  to  the  conflict ;  but  the  baffled 
bully,  snatching  a  stake  from  the  fence,  again  approached 
with  dreadful  imprecations.     At  the  earnest  entreaty  of 
Jackson,  the  crowd  retired  from  between  them.     Poising 
his  slab,  he  then  advanced,  with  a  firm  step  and  steady 
eye,  upon  his   antagonist,  who  dropped  his  stake  at  his 
approach,  jumped  over  the  fence,  and  ran  into  the  woods. 
These  attempts  to  intimidate  Jackson  in  the  perform 
ance  of  what  he  conceived  to  be  his  duty  to  his  clients, 
were  found  wholly  unavailing,  and  were  soon  abandoned. 
His  enemies  were  convinced  by  the  first  controversy  in 
which  they  had  involved  him,  that  his  decision  and  firm 
ness  were  such  as  to  leave  no  hope  of  effecting  any  thing- 
through  this  channel.     Disregarding  the  opposition  mani 
fested  towards  him,  he  continued,  with  care  and  industry, 
to  press  forward  in  his  professional  course  ;  and  his  atten 
tion  soon  brought  him  forward,  and  introduced  him  to  a 
profitable  practice.     The  western  district  of  North  Caro 
lina  having  been  ceded  to  the  national  government,  an 
erected  into  a  territory,  in  1790,  Jackson  was  appointed,  b^ 
president  Washington,  the  United  States  attorney  for  the 
new  judicial  district,  in  which  capacity  he  continued  to 
act  for  several  years. 

The  depredations  committed  by  the  Indians,  in  the  vici 
nity  of  the  Cumberland  river,  about  this  time,  compelled 
every  man,  of  necessity,  to  become  a  soldier.  Unassisted 


INDIAN    DEPREDATIONS.  35 

by  the  government,  the  settlers  were  forced  to  rely,  for 
security,  on  their  own  bravery  and  exertions.  Although 
young,  no  person  was  more  distinguished  than  Andrew 
Jackson,  in  defending  the  country  against  these  predatory 
incursions  of  the  savages,  who  continually  harassed  the 
frontiers,  and  not  unfrequently  approached  the  heart  of 
the  settlements,  which  were  thin,  but  not  widely  extended. 
Frequent  expeditions  were  undertaken  from  Nashville 
against  them,  in  most  of  which  he  took  part.  This  state 
of  things  continued  until  1794,  when  a  large  party,  among 
whom  was  Jackson,  attacked  and  destroyed  the  Indian 
town  of  Nickajak,  near  the  Tennessee  river.  In  these 
affairs,  his  courage  and  gallantry  were  so  conspicuous, 
that  the  red  warriors  gave  him  the  appellation  of  "Sharp 
Knife,"  and  the  hardy  hunters  who  accompanied  him 
were  proud  of  his  friendship  and  esteem. 

When  Jackson  first  located  himself  in  Nashville,  he 
boarded,  in  company  writh  the  late  Judge  Overton,  in  the 
family  of  Mrs.  Donelson,  a  widow  lady  who  had  emigrated 
from  Virginia,  first  to  Kentucky,  and  afterwards  to  Nash 
ville.  Mrs.  Robards,  her  daughter,  who  afterwards  be 
came  the  wife  of  Jackson,  was  then  living  in  the  family 
with  her  mother,  whom  she  had  followed  to  Tennessee, 
on  account  of  the  ill  treatment  which  she  had  received  at 
the  hands  of  her  husband,  who  was  dissipated  in  his  ha 
bits  and  of  a  morose  and  jealous  disposition,  while  she, 
on  the  contrary,  was  celebrated  for  her  gayety,  sweetness, 
and  affability.  A  short  time  before  Jackson  became  an 
inmate  of  the  family,  a  reconciliation  had  taken  place  be 
tween  Robards  and  his  wife1;  but  a  second  rupture  afterwards 
occurred,  and  Robards  went  to  Kentucky.  His  wife  soon 
learned  that.he  intended  to  compel  her  to  accompany  him, 
and,  in  the  spring  of  1791,  with  the  advice  of  her  friends, 
sh<*d«  termined  to  descend  the  river  as  far  as  Natchez,  in 
company  with  Colonel  Stark,  who  was  then  making  pre 
parations  for  the  voyage.  At  the  earnest  request  of  Colo 
nel  Stark,  Jackson  piloted  his  family  through  the  Indian 
country.  After  his  return,  Judge  Overton  communicated 
to  him  the  astounding  intelligence,  that  he  was  the  uncon- 


36  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

scious  cause  of  the  last  separation  ;  that  it  arose  from  Ro- 
bards'  jealousy  of  him ;  and  that  the  circumstance  of  his 
accompanying  Colonel  Stark,  who  was  an  elderly  man,  and 
apprehensive  of  danger,  had  been  seized  upon  by  Robards 
as  a  ground  of  divorce,  in  a  petition  to  the  Virginia  legis 
lature. 

The  thought  that  an  innocent  woman  was  suffering  so 
unjustly  on  his  account,  made  Jackson's  sensitive  mind 
most  uneasy  and  unhappy.  He  immediately  sought  out 
Robards  and  expostulated  with  him,  on  the  injustice  and 
cruelty  of  his  causeless  suspicion ;  but  the  interview  ended 
in  mutual  defiances.  At  length  news  came  that  the  Vir 
ginia  legislature  had  actually  granted  the  divorce  in  ac 
cordance  with  Robards'  petition.  Forthwith  Jackson  has 
tened  to  Natchez,  and  offered  his  hand  and  his  heart  to  the 
innocent  and  amiable  woman,  who  had  been  made  so  un 
happy  by  false  and  unfounded  accusations,  in  order  that 
he  might  give  the  world  the  highest  evidence  in  his  power 
of  her  entire  innocence. 

Although  free  to  form  a  new  connection,  Mrs.  Robards 
declined  the  proffered  offer.  But  her  suitor  was  not  to  be 
denied.  His  feelings  were  warmly  enlisted  in  her  favor. 
His  attachment  for  her  was  ardent  and  sincere,  and  when 
he  addressed  her  in  the  language  of  Ruth  to  Naomi : 
"  Entreat  me  not  to  leave  thee  or  to  return  from  following 
after  thee,  for  where  thou  goest  I  will  go,  where  thou 
lodgest  I  will  lodge,  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and 
thy  God  my  God  ;  where  thou  diest  I  will  die,  and  there 
will  I  be  buried,"  she  found  herself  unable  to  resist  his 
importunities,  and  they  were  soon  after  married  and  re 
turned  to  Tennessee.  On  arriving  there,  it  was  discovered 
that  all  the  necessary  forms  to  complete  the  divorce  in 
Virginia  had  not  been  finished  at  the  time  of  the  marriage; 
consequently  the  ceremony  was  again  performed  after 
their  arrival  at  Nashville.  The  attachment  thus  consum 
mated  was  a  source  of  unfailing  pleasure  to  Andrew  Jack 
son.  He  was  devotedly  fond  of  his  wife ;  after  her  decease 
he  cherished  her  memory  with  an  almost  holy  reverence ; 
and  he  refused  the  sarcpphagus  of  the  Emperor  Severps, 


I   UN'VERSI 


CHOSEN    A    SENATOR    IN    CONGRESS.  37 

that  he  might  not  be  denied  the  privilege  of  being  buried 
by  her  side.* 

In  the  year  1796,  measures  were  taken  by  the  people 
of  Tennessee  to  form  a  state  government.  The  acknow 
ledged  talents,  patriotism,  and  decision  of  character,  of 
Andrew  Jackson  were  not  to  be  overlooked  on  such  an 
occasion,  and  without  solicitation  on  his  part,  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  members  of  the  convention  to  frame  a 
state  constitution.  His  good  conduct  and  zeal  for  the 
public  interest,  and  the  republican  feelings  and  sentiments 
which  were  conspicuously  manifested  in  the  formation  and 
arrangement  of  this  instrument,  brought  him  more  pro 
minently  to  view ;  and,  without  proposing  or  soliciting 
the  office,  he  was  in  the  same  year  elected  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  for  the  state 
of  Tennessee.  The  following  year!  his  reputation  con 
tinuing  to  increase,  and  his  constituents  generally  concur 
ring  in  the  wish  to  elevate  him  to  still  higher  honors,  he 
was  chosen  a  senator  in  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  on  the 
22d  day  of  November,  1797.  About  the  middle  of  April, 
1798,  business  of  an  important  and  private  nature  im 
posed  on  him  the  necessity  of  asking  leave  of  absence, 
and  returning  home.  Leave  was  granted,  and  before  the 
next  session  he  resigned  his  seat.  He  was  but  little  more 
than  tbirty  years  of  age ;  and  nence  scarcely  eligible  by  the 
constitution,  at  the  time  he  was  elected.  The  sedition  law, 
about  which  so  much  concern  and  feeling  had  been  mani 
fested  through  the  country,  was  introduced  into  the  senate 
by  Mr.  Lloyd,  of  Maryland,  in  June,  179S,  and  passed 
that  body  on  the  4th  of  July  following;  hence  the  name 
of  Jackson,  owing  to  his  absence  from  his  seat,  does  not 
appear  on  the  journals.  At  the  time  of  the  passage  of 
the  alien  law,  and  the  effort  to  repeal  the  stamp  act,  he 
was  present,  and  voted  with  the  minority,  in  accordance 
with  his  well-known  republican  sentiments. 

Shortly  after  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  senator,  the 
legislature  of  Tennessee,  most  unexpectedly  to  himself, 
conferred  upon  him  the  appointment  of  judge  of  the  Su- 

*  See  page  373. 


38  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

preme  Court,  a  station  which  he  accepted  with  reluctance, 
and  from  which  he  withdrew  at  an  early  day.  His  first 
court  was  held  at  Jonesborough,  where  an  incident  oc 
curred,  illustrative  alike  of  the  rudeness  of  the  times  and 
the  firmness  of  the  new  judge  : 

A  man  named  Russell  Bean  was  indicted  for  cutting  off 
the  ears  of  his  infant  child  in  a  drunken  frolic.  He  was 
in  the  courtyard  ;  but  such  was  his  strength  and  ferocity, 
that  the  sheriff,  not  daring  to  approach  him,  made  a  return 
to  the  court  that  "  Russell  Bean,  will  not  be  taken."  Judge 
Jackson,  with  his  peculiar  emphasis,  said  that  such  a  re 
turn  was  an  absurdity,  and  could  not  be  received.  "  He 
must  be  taken,"  said  the  judge,  "and,  if  necessary,  you 
must  summon  the  posse  comitatus."  The  mortified 
sheriff  retired,  and  waiting  until  the  court  adjourned  for 
dinner,  summoned  the  judges  themselves,  as  part  of  the 
posse.  Conceiving  that  the  object  of  the  sheriff  was  to 
avoid  a  dangerous  service,  under  cover  of  the  judges'  re 
fusal  to  obey  the  summons,  Judge  Jackson  instantly  replied, 
"  Yes,  sir,  I  will  attend  you,  and  see  that  you  do  your 
duty."  Learning  that  Bean  was  armed,  he  requested  a 
loaded  pistol,  which  was  put  into  his  hand.  He  then 
said  to  the  sheriff:  "  Advance  and  arrest  him  ;  I  will  pro 
tect  you  from  harm."  Bean,  armed  with  a  dirk  and  brace 
of  pistols,  assumed  an  attitude  of  defiance  and  despera 
tion.  But  when  the  judge  drew  near,  he  began  to  retreat. 
"  Stop  and  submit  to  the  law,"  cried  the  judge.  The  cul 
prit  stopped,  threw  down  his  pistols,  and  replied,  "I  will 
surrender  to  you,  sir,  but  to  no  one  else."  This  exem 
plary  firmness  and  decision  of  Judge  Jackson,  in  main 
taining  the  supremacy  of  the  law,  produced  a  happy 
change  in  the  conduct  of  the  turbulent  spirits  of  the  vi 
cinity. 

General  Jackson  was  distinguished  throughout  his  whol 
life  for  a  remarkable  fidelity  to  his  friends.  This  trait  in 
his  character  was  strikingly  exhibited  in  the  progress  of  a 
serious  difficulty  between  Governor  Sevier  and  himself, 
which  took  place  in  1803.  A  misunderstanding  arose 
between  Jackson  and  his  former  friend,  Judge  McNairy, 
growing  out  of  the  agency  of  the  latter  in  the  removal  of 


FIRMNESS    AND    DECISION    AS    A   JUDGE.  39 

general  Robertson,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respected 
;itizens  of  the  state,  from  the  office  of  agent  for  the  Chicka- 
saw  Indians.  One  of  the  consequences  of  that  removal 
was,  that  a  Mr.  Searcy,  who  had  emigrated  to  the  country 
with  them,  and  continued  their  steadfast  friend,  lost  his 
office  as  clerk  to  the  agency,  on  which  he  depended  for 
support.  Not  perceiving  any  public  reasons  requiring 
this  removal,  Jackson  remonstrated  with  McNairy  on  the 
course  he  had  pursued.  An  altercation  ensued,  which 
produced  an  alienation  never  entirely  obliterated.  This 
incident  added  the  weight  of  a  respectable  and  powerful 
family  to  the  hostile  interests  already  arrayed  against  him. 
Among  others  who  became  inimical  towards  him  on 
this  account,  was  John  Sevier,  governor  of  the  state. 
Sevier  was  very  popular,  and  being  a  candidate  for  re 
election,  in  1803,  his  exasperation  against  General  Jackson 
was  imbibed,  in  the  course  of  the  canvass,  by  the  power 
ful  party  which  supported  him.  In  East  Tennessee  it 
had  arisen  to  a  high  pitch ;  and  while  on  his  way  to 
Jonesborough  to  hold  his  court,  in  the  fall  of  1803,  he  was 
informed  that  a  combination  had  been  organized  to  mob 
him  on  his  arrival.  It  had  no  effect  but  to  increase  his 
anxiety  to  reach  his  destination.  Having  been  sick  on 
the  road,  he  pushed  forward  while  scarcely  able  to  sit  on 
his  horse,  and  on  his  arrival  at  Jonesborough  could  not 
dismount  without  assistance.  Having  a  high  fever  upon 
him,  he  retired  immediately  to  his  room,  and  lay  down 
upon  the  bed.  In  a  short  time  a  friend  called,  and  in 
formed  him  that  a  regiment  of  men,  headed  by  Colonel 
Harrison,  had  assembled  to  tar  and  feather  him,  and 
begged  .him  to  lock  his  door.  He  immediately  rose,  threw 
the  door  wide  open,  and  said  to  his  friend,  "Give  my 
compliments  to  Colonel  Harrison,  and  tell  him  my  door  is 
open  to  receive  him  and  his  regiment  \vhenever  they 
choose  to  \vait  upon  me  ;  and  I  hope  the  colonel's  chivalry 
will  induce  him  to  lead  his  men,  and  not  follow  them." 
Upon  the  delivery  of  his  message,  the  mob  dispersed ; 
and  having  apologized  for  the  inconsiderate  violence  of 
his  conduct,  Harrison  remained  ever  after  on  good  terms 
with  General  Jackson. 


40  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

His  next  court  was  at  Knoxville,  where  the  legislature 
was  then  in  session.  They  had  entered  into  an  investi 
gation  of  certain  land  frauds  which  Jackson  had  done  much 
to  defeat,  and  there  was  some  evidence  tending  to  impli 
cate  the  governor,  who  consequently  became  still  more 
highly  exasperated,  and  determined  to  revenge  himself. 
As  Judge  Jackson  left  the  court-house  on  the  first  day  of 
his  court,  he  found  a  crowd  in  front,  in  the  midst  of  which, 
stood  Governor  Sevier,  with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  ha 
ranguing  them  in  a  loud  voice.  As  Jackson  advanced, 
the  governor  turned  upon  him ;  and  an  altercation  en 
sued,  in  which  insults  were  given  and  retorted.  Being 
repeatedly  defied  by  the  governor  to  meet  him  in  single 
combat,  the  general  sent  him  a  challenge,  which  was  ac 
cepted.  But  in  consequence  of  difficulties  on  the  part  of 
the  challenged  party,  as  to  the  time  and  place  of  meeting, 
the  general  published  him  in  the  usual  form.  It  was  then 
understood,  without  any  formal  arrangement,  that  they 
would  meet  at  a  place  called  Southwest  Point,  within  the 
Indian  boundary.  Thither  the  general  repaired  with  a 
single  friend.  Having  waited  a  couple  of  days,  without 
seeing  or  hearing  of  the  governor,  he  resolved  to  return  to 
Knoxville,  and  bring  the  quarrel  to  a  close.  He  had  not 
proceeded  a  mile,  however,  when  he  saw  the  governor 
approaching,  escorted  by  about  twenty  men.  He  had 
already  prepared  another  note  to  the  governor,  setting 
forth  his  manifold  grievances,  and  halting  in  the  road,  he 
sent  his  friend  forward  to  deliver  it.  The  governor  re 
fused  to  receive  it.  Out  of  patience  with  what  he  con 
ceived  to  be  an  aggravation  of  former  indignities,  the 
general  resolved  to  end  the  matter  on  the  spot.  He  was 
armed  with  a  brace  of  pistols  at  his  saddle-bow,  and  a 
cane  ;  the  governor  with  a  brace  of  pistols  and  a  sword. 
Advancing  slowly  until  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the 
governor,  he  levelled  his  cane  as  ancient  knights  did  their 
spears,  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  charged  upon  his  an 
tagonist.  Astounded  at  this  bold  arid  unexpected  move 
ment,  the  governor's  friends  had  not  presence  of  mind 
enough  to  interpose  ;  and  the  governor  himself,  dismount 
ing  to  avoid  the  shock,  trod  on  the  scabbard  of  his  sword, 


RETIRES   TO   PRIVATE    LIFE.  41 

and  was  rendered  incapable  of  resistance.  A  rally  of  his 
attendants  prevented  any  very  serious  mischief. .  In  the 
governor's  party  were  gentlemen  who  were  as  much  the 
friends  of  General  Jackson  as  of  himself ;  and  through  their 
intercession,  all  further  hostile  intentions  were  abandoned, 
and  the  parties  rode  on  some  miles  together. 

On  the  admission  of  Tennessee-  into  the  union,  it  com 
prised  one  military  division.  The  death  of  Major-general 
Conway,  which  occurred  about  this  time,  created  a  va 
cancy  in  the  office,  which  was  filled  by  the  election  of 
Jackson.  This  was  the  only  public  station  he  filled  for  a 
number  of  years,  as,  in  1804,  he  sent  in  his  resignation 
of  the  judgeship  to  the  legislature,  which  was  accepted  in 
July,  about  six  years  after  his  original  appointment.  He 
always  distrusted  his  own  abilities  as  a  judge,  and  was  quite 
willing  that  others  should  discharge  its  intricate  and  re 
sponsible  duties.  Unambitious  of  obtaining  those  distinc 
tions  and  honors,  which  young  men  are  usually  proud  to 
possess,  and  finding  too  that  his  circumstances  and  con 
dition  in  life  were  not  such  as  to  permit  his  time  and  at 
tention  to  be  devoted  to  public  matters,  he  determined  to 
yield  them  into  other  hands,  and  to  devote  himself  to 
agricultural  pursuits.  He  accordingly  settled  himself  on 
an  excellent  farm,  ten  miles  from  Nashville,  on  the  Cum 
berland  river,  where  for  several  years  he  enjoyed  all  the 
comforts  of  domestic  and  social  intercourse.  Abstracted 
from  the  busy  scenes  of  public  life,  pleased  with  retire 
ment,  surrounded  by  friends  whom  he  loved,  and  who 
entertained  for  him  the  highest  veneration  and  respect, 
and  blessed  with  an  amiable  and  affectionate  wife,  nothing 
seemed  wanting  to  the  completion  of  that  happiness  which 
he  so  anxiously  desired  while  in  office. 


LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1804.  Fondness  of  General  Jackson  for  horses — Duel  with  Dickinson 
— Forms  a  mercantile  partnership — Pecuniary  difficulties — Adven 
ture  with  the  Choctaw  agent — Affray  with  Colonel  Benton — Their 
subsequent  friendship  for  each  other — Hostilities  with  Great  Britain 
— Declaration  of  war  in  1812 — Jackson  raises  a  volunteer  force — 
Their  services  accepted  by  government — Ordered  to  embark  for 
Natchez— Arrival  of  the  troops,  and  order  to  iisband  them— His 
disobedience  of  orders — Attempt  of  General  \k  ilkinson  to  prevent 
the  return  of  the  volunteers— Object  of  the  onier— Jackson's  de 
cision  exhibited — Shares  the  privations  of  the  so  d.ers  on  their  home 
ward  march—  Return,  and  disbandment  of  his  )'  e.  1813. 

GENERAL  JACKSON  had  a  strong  passion  '  r  fine  horses, 
and  it  became  a  principal  branch  of  his  fan  'ng  business, 
to  raise  them  from  the  best  blooded  stock  imported  from 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  The  enthusiasm  of  his 
character  displayed  itself  in  his  attachment  to  favorite 
animals  he  had  raised,  and  perhaps  no  man  in  the  west 
ern  country  was  equally  successful  in  that  branch  of  agri 
cultural  pursuits.  More  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  his 
stock  and  recommending  it  to  purchasers,  than  to  indulge 
in  the  practices  common  at  such  places,  he  brought  out 
his  favorite  horses  upon  the  race-courses  of  the  day,  and, 
though  not  a  sportsman,  in  the  technical  sense  of  the  term, 
he  lost  and  won  in  many  a  well-contested  field.  An  occa 
sion  of  this  sort,  however,  led  to  one  of  the  most  unfor 
tunate  incidents  of  his  life. 

He  owned  a  favorite  horse,  named  Truxton,  which  I 
was  challenged  to  run  against  a  horse  owned  by  a  Mr. 
Erwin  and  his  son-in-law,  Charles  Dickinson.  The  stakes 
were  to  be  two  thousand  dollars  on  a  side,  in  cash  notes, 
with  a  forfeiture  of  eight  hundred  dollars.  The  bet  was 
accepted,  and  a  list  of  notes  made  out;  but  when  the  time 
for  running  arrived,  Erwin  and  Dickinson  chose  to  pay  the 


DUEL    WITH    DICKINSON.  43 

forfeit.  Erwin  offered  sundry  notes  not  due,  withholding 
the  list  which  was  in  the  hands  of  Dickinson.  Jackson 
refused  to  receive  them,  and  demanded  the  list,  claiming 
the  right  to  select  from  the  notes  described  upon  it.  The  list 
was  produced,  a  selefhon  made,  and  the  affair  satisfacto 
rily  adjusted.  Afterwards  a  rumor  reached  Dickinson,  that 
General  Jackson  charged  Erwin  with  producing  a  list  of 
lotes  different  from  the  true  one.  In  an  interview  between 
ackson  and  Dickinson,  the  former  denied  the  statement, 
and  the  latter  gave  his  author.  Jackson  instantly  proposed 
to  call  him  in  ;  but  Dickinson  declined.  Meeting  with  the 
author  shortly  after,  Jackson  had  an  altercation  with  him, 
which  ended  in  blows.  Here  the  affair  ought  to  have 
ended.  But  there  were  those  who  desired  to  produce  a 
duel  between  Jackson  and  Dickinson.  The  latter  was 
brave  and  reckless,  a  trader  in  blacks  and  blooded  horses, 
and  reputed  to  be  the  best  shot  in  the  country.  A  quar 
rel  with  such  a  man  as  General  Jackson  was  flattering  to 
his  pride,  and  officious  friends  were  not  wanting  to  take 
advantage  of  the  weakness  of  the  one  party,  and  the  in 
flexibility  of  the  other,  in  order  to  push  matters  to  extremi 
ties.  Exasperation  was  produced;  publication  followed 
publication ;  insults  were  given  and  retorted ;  until,  at 
length,  General  Jackson  was  informed  that  a  paper,  more 
severe  than  its  predecessors,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
printer,  and  that  Dickinson  was  about  to  leave  the  state. 
He  flew  to  Nashville,  and  demanded  a  sight  of  it  in  the 
printer's  hands.  It  was  insulting  in  the  highest  degree, 
contained  a  direct  imputation  of  cowardice,  and  concluded 
with  a  notice  that  the  .author  would  leave  for  Maryland, 
within  the  coming  week.  A  stern  challenge,  demanding 
immediate  satisfaction,  was  the  consequence.  The  chal 
lenge  was  given  on  the  23d  of  May,  and  Dickinson's  pub 
lication  appeared  the  next  morning.  Jackson  pressed  for 
an  instant  meeting ;  but  it  was  postponed,  at  the  request 
of  the  other  party,  until  the  30th,  at  which  time  it  was 
to  take  place,  at  Harrison's  Mills,  on  Red  River,  within 
the  limits  ^of  Kentucky.  Dickinson  occupied  the  inter 
mediate  time  in  practicing;  and  his  ferocious  boasts,  how 
often  he  had  hit  the  general  chalked  out  on  a  tree,  and  his 


44  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

unfeeling  offers  to  bet  that  he  would  kill  him  at  the  ap 
proaching  meeting,  being  duly  communicated,  had  an 
effect  upon  his  antagonist  which  can  be  better  conceived 
than  described.  Jackson  went  upon  the  ground  firmly 
impressed  with  the  conviction  tha^his  life  was  eagerly 
sought,  and  in  the  expectation  of  losing  it,  but  with  a  de 
termination  which  such  a  conviction  naturally  inspired  in 
a  bosom  that  never  knew  fear.  At  the  word,  Dickinson 
fired,  and  the  dust  was  seen  to  fly  from  Jackson's  clothes ; 
the  next  instant,  the  latter  fired,  and  Dickinson  fell.  Jack 
son,  with  his  friend  and  surgeon,  left  the  ground,  and  had 
travelled  about  twenty  miles  towards  home,  when  his  at 
tendant  first  discovered  that  the  general  was  wounded,  by 
seeing  the  blood  oozing  through  his  clothes.  On  examina 
tion,  it  was  found  that  Dickinson's  ball  had  buried  itself 
in  his  breast,  and  shattered  two  of  his  ribs  near  their  arti 
culation  with  the  breastbone.  It  was  some  weeks  before 
he  was  able  to  attend  to  business.  Dickinson  was  taken 
to  a  neighbouring  house,  where  he  survived  but  a  few 
hours. 

The  friends  of  Dickinson,  and  the  enemies  of  Jackson, 
circulated  charges  of  unfairness  in  the  fight,  bat  ihe«e 
were  soon  put  down,  in  the  estimation  of  candid  and  im 
partial  judges,  by  the  certificates  of  the  seconds,  that  all 
had  been  done  according  to  the  previous  understanding 
between  the  parties,  and  proof  that  Dickinson  himself, 
though  able  to  converse,  never  uttered  a  single  word  of 
complaint  before  his  death. 

The  firmness  and  steadiness  of  nerve  exhibited  by  Ge 
neral  Jackson  on  this  occasion,  have  often  been  the  subject 
of  commendation,  even  among  those  who  do  not  hesitate 
to  condemn,  in  decided  terms,  the  inexcusable  practice, 
which  was  then  not  only  tolerated,  but  actually  encou 
raged,  in  that  section  of  the  country.  There  are  many 
brave  men  who  can  look  danger  in  the  face,  without  the 
change  of  a  muscle  ;  but  there  are  few  who  can  take  a 
sure  aim,  at  the  moment  when  they  are  conscious  of  being 
severely  wounded.  Not  a  man  on  the  ground,  except 
General  Jackson  himself,  knew  that  he  had  received  a 
wound  ;  and  every  muscle  was  as  quiet,  and  his  hand  as 


ADVENTURE  WITH  THE  CHOCTAW  AGENT.      45 

steady,  as  if  he  had  not  known  it  himself.  The  stern  pur 
pose  which  might  in  part  have  nerved  him,  was  best  de 
scribed  by  himself,  when  a  friend  expressed  astonishment 
at  his  self-command:  "Sir,"  said  he,  "I  should  have 
killed  him,  if  he  had  shot  me  through  the  brain." 

Not  long  after  this  occurrence,  General  Jackson  entered 
,  into  partnership  with  a  merchant  in  Nashville.  He  took 
no  active  part  in  the  business  himself,  and  their  affairs 
were  conducted  for  some  time,  without  his  having  any 
more  than  a  general  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on. 
Circumstances,  however,  soon  attracted  his  attention,  which 
led  him  to  suspect  that  all  was  not  right.  He  promptly 
demanded  a  full  investigation,  which  resulted  in  the  dis 
covery  that  his  partner,  in  whose  fidelity  and  capacity  he 
had  reposed  the  most  implicit  confidence,  had  involved  him 
for  many  thousand  dollars,  over  and  above  what  could  be 
satisfied  out  of  the  partnership  property.  With  a  prompt 
itude  which  did  him  great  honor,  he  sold  his  fine  planta 
tion,  paid  off  his  debts  with  the  proceeds  of  the  sale,  and 
retired  into  a  log-cabin  to  begin  the  world  anew.  His  ex 
traordinary  energy  and  perseverance,  and  the  rigid  system 
of  economy  he  adopted,  enabled  him  in  a  few  years  to 
recover  from  his  embarrassments,  and  to  be  once  more  com 
fortable  in  the  world. 

In  the  year  1811,  General  Jackson  had  occasion  to  visit 
Natchez,  in  the  territory  of  Mississippi,  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  up  a  number  of  blacks,  a  part  of  whom  had  be 
come  his  property  in  consequence  of  having  been  security 
for  a  friend,  and  the  remainder  were  hands  which  had 
been  employed  by  a  nephew,  in  the  neighborhood  of  that 
place.  The  road  led  through  the  country  inhabited  by 
the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw  Indians,  and  the  station  of  fhe 
agent  for  the  Choctaws  was  upon  it.  On  reaching  the 
agency,  he  found  seven  or  eight  families  of  emigrants,  find 
two  members  of  the  Mississippi  legislative  council,  detained 
there,  under  the  pretence  that  it  was  necessary  for  them 
to  have  passports  frofn  the  governor  of  Mississippi.  One 
of  their  number  had  been  sent  forward  to  procure  thf  m. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  emigrants  were  buying  corn  from, 
.he  agent,  at  an  extravagant  price,  and  splitting  rails  for 


46  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

him  at  a  very  moderate  one.  Indignant  at  the  wrong  in 
flicted  on  the  emigrants,  he  reproached  the  members  of 
the  council  for  submitting  to  the  detention,  and  asked  the 
agent  how  he  dared  to  demand  a  pass  from  a  free  Ame 
rican,  travelling  on  a  public  road.  The  agent  replied,  by 
inquiring,  with  much  temper,  whether  he  had  a  pass. 
"  Yes,  sir,"  rejoined  the  general,  "  I  always  carry  mine 
with  me :  I  am  a  free-born  American  citizen ;  and  tha 
is  a  passport  all  over  the  world."  He  then  directed  th 
emigrants  to  gear  up  their  wagons,  and  if  any  one  at 
tempted  to  obstruct  them,  to  shoot  him  down  as  a  highway 
robber.  Setting  them  the  example,  he  continued  his  jour 
ney,  regardless  of  the  threats  of  the  agent. 

After  concluding  his  business,  he  was  informed  that  the 
agent  had  collected  about  fifty  white  men  and  one  hundred 
Indians,  to  stop  him  on  his  return,  unless  he  produced  a 
passport.  Though  advised  by  his  friends  to  procure  one, 
he  refused  to  do  so ;  stating  that  no  American  citizen 
should  ever  be  subjected  to  the  insult  and  indignity  of 
procuring  a  pass,  to  enable  him  to  travel  a  public  highway 
in  his  own  country.  Like  all  travellers  among  the  In 
dians,  at  that  time,  he  was  armed  with  a  brace  of  pistols; 
and  having  added  a  rifle,  and  another  pistol,  he  commenced 
his  return  journey.  When  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
agency,  he  was  informed  by  a  friend  who  had  gone  for 
ward  to  reconnoitre,  that  the  agent  had  his  force  in  readi 
ness  to  stop  him.  He  directed  his  friend  to  advance  again, 
and  tell  the  agent,  that  if  he  attempted  to  stop  him,  it 
would  be  at  the  peril  of  his  life.  He  then  put  his  blacks 
in  order,  and  armed  them  with  axes  and  clubs ;  at  the 
same  time  telling  them  not  to  stop  unless  directed  by  him, 
and  if  any  one  offered  to  oppose  them,  to  cut  him  down. 
Riding  by  their  side,  he  approached  the  station,  when  the 
agent  appeared,  and  asked  him  whether  he  meant  to  stop 
and  show  his  passport.  Jackson  replied  :  "  That  depends 
on  circumstances.  I  am  told  that  you  mean  to  stop  me 
by  force ;  whoever  attempts  such  a*  thing  will  not  have 
long  to  live  ;"  and  with  a  look  that  was  not  to  be  mistaken, 
he  grasped  his  bridle  with  a  firmer  grip.  His  determined 
manner  had  such  an  effect,  that  the  agent  declared  he  had 


AFFRAY    WITH    COLONEL    BENTON.  47 

no  intention  of  stopping  him,  and  he  and  his  party  were 
suffered  to  pass  on,  without  further  molestation  or  inter 
ruption.  He  afterwards  reported  the  conduct  of  the  agent 
to  the  government,  and  he  was  dismissed  from  his  agency. 

After  the  return  of  General  Jackson  from  Natchez,  he 
was  called  upon  by  his  friend,  the  late  Governor  Carroll, 
to  act  as  his  second,  in  an  affair  of  honor  with  a  brother  of 
Colonel  Thomas  H.  Benton,  for  so  many  years  the  distin 
guished  representative  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  in  the 
senate  of  the  United  States.  In  the  duel,  Mr.  Benton  was 
severely  wounded.  The  colonel,  who  had  long  been  on 
terms  of  friendly  intimacy  with  Jackson,  thought  that  the 
latter  acted  ungenerously,  in  taking  such  a  part  against 
his  kinsman,  and  expressed  himself  accordingly  in  a  let 
ter  addressed  to  him.  General  Jackson,  however,  felt 
himself  bound  by  the  relations  which  had  existed  between 
Governor  Carroll  and  himself,  to  perform  the  act  of  friend 
ship  which  he  required,  and  replied  to  that  effect,  in  very 
pointed  terms.  The  angry  correspondence  that  ensued 
only  widened  the  breach,  and  it  ended  in  a  fight  at  a  pub 
lic-house  in  Nashville,  in  which  Jackson's  left  arm  was 
shattered  by  a  pistol  shot.  For  several  years  afterwards, 
both  gentlemen  appeared  to  cherish  feelings  of  animosity 
towards  each  other,  but  the  political  associations  pf  a  later 
day  united  them  together  in  the  bonds  of  a  sincere  and 
constant  friendship.  The  many  noble  traits  in  the  cha 
racter  of  Andrew  Jackson  elicited  the  warmest  admiration 
and  respect  of  Colonel  Benton,  while  the  former  was  proud 
to  manifest  his  attachment  to  one  of  the  firmest  and  ablest 
supporters  of  his  administration. 

The  repose  of  Jackson,  and  the  pleasures  he  had  en 
joyed  in  his  quiet  home,  were  now  destined  to  be  termi 
nated  by  the  public  exigencies,  which  compelled  him  to 
abandon  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture  for  the  ha 
rassing  cares  and  anxieties  of  a  military  career.  The 
difficulties  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
which  had  originated  with  the  adoption  of  the  Orders  in 
Council,  and  jhe  passage  of  the  Embargo  Act,  in  1807,  had 
long  threatened  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  two  countries. 
In  the  spring  of  1811,  affairs  began  to  assume  a  most 


48  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

threatening  aspect.  On  the  first  of  March,  the  American 
minister,  Mr.  Pinckney,  took  a  formal  leave  of  the  Prince 
Regent,  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of  his  government. 
Active  preparations  were  at  once  made  for  the  commence 
ment  of  hostilities.  Privateers  were  fitted  out  in  every 
harbor,  and  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  Union, 
there  prevailed  a  strong  feeling  of  indignation  at  the  re 
peated  wrongs  and  injuries  which  our  countrymen  had 
endured  from  the  English  government.  The  war-spirit 
was  aroused,  and,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi, 
there  glowed  a  strong  and  manly  enthusiasm  which  bounded 
to  defend  the  honor  of  the  nation,  and  maintain,  at  any 
sacrifice,  the  "  searchless  shelter"  of  their  flag.  In  accord 
ance  with  the  decided  expressions  of  public  sentiment,  the 
American  Congress  passed  an  act,  in  the  month  of  Feb 
ruary,  1812,  authorizing  the  president  to  accept  the  ser 
vices  of  a  large  volunteer  force.  On  the  20th  day  of  June 
war  was  declared  against  Great  Britain,  and  in  July  fol 
lowing,  a  second  act  was  passed,  making  further  provisions 
for  caliing  out  fifty  thousand  volunteers. 
/  At  this  time,  General  Jackson  was  living  happily  on  his 
ifarm,  and,  though  only  forty-five  years  of  age,  he  had  re 
tired,  as  he  thought,  for  ever,  from  all  participation  in 
public  affairs.  But  the  fire  of  that  true  and  devoted  pa 
triotism  which  never  ceased  to  glow  in  his  bosom,  needed 
but  the  quickening  spark,  to  cause  it  to  revive  with  all  the 
fervor  of  youth.  He  was  roused  by  the  insults  that  had 
been  so  repeatedly  offered  to  his  country,  by  the  wrongs 
inflicted  upon  her  citizens,  and  by  the  bitter  recollections 
connected  with  the  death  of  his  mother  and  his  two  bro 
thers.  He  could  recall  the  many  horrid  tales,  to  which 
he  had  listened,  of  English  cruelty  and  oppression  in  the 
birth-place  of  his  ancestors.  There  was  also  that  scar  on 
his  hand,  inflicted  by  a  British  officer,  who  had  aimed  a 
blow  at  his  life  because  he  had  refused  to  clean  the  dirt 
from  his  boots ;  that  scar  remained  to  keep  his  virtuous 
resentment  alive,  even  if  he  could  otherwise  have  for 
gotten  the  injuries  of  his  native  land,  the  wrongs  of  Ire 
land,  and  the  extermination  of  every  relative  in  the 


RAISES'   A  VOLUNTEER   FORCE.  49 

Jackson  did  not  seek  a  command  in  the  regular  army, 
but  immediately  issued  a  spirited  address  to  the  citizens 
of  his  division,  calling  upon  them  to  unite  with  him  in 
protecting  the  rights  and  the  honor  of  the  republic.  In  a 
few  days  twenty-five  hundred  volunteers  flocked  to  his 
standard,  ready  to  follow  wheresoever  he  might  see  fit  to 
lead  them.  A  tender  of  their  services  having  been  made 
to  the  general  government,  and  the  offer  accepted,  he  re 
ceivcd  orders  in  November,  1812,  to  place  himself  at  their 
head  and  to  descend  the  Mississippi,  for  the  defence  of  the 
lower  country,  which  was  then  supposed  to  be  in  danger. 
Accordingly,  on  the  10th  of  December,  1812,  the  men 
under  his  command  rendezvoused  at  Nashville,  prepared 
to  advance  to  the  place  of  their  destination  ;  and  although 
the  weather  was  then  excessively  severe,  and  the  ground 
covered  with  snow,  no  troops  could  have  displayed  greater 
firmness.  The  general  was  everywhere  with  them,  in 
spiring  them  with  the  ardor  that  animated  his  own  bosom. 
The  cheerful  spirit  with  which  they  submitted  to  hard 
ships  and  bore  privations,  at  the  very  outset  of  their  mili 
tary  life,  as  well  as  the  order  and  subordination  they 
so  readily  observed,  were  happy  presages  of  what  was 
to  be  expected  when  they  should  be  directed  to  face  an 
enemy. 

Having  procured  supplies,  and  made  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  an  active  campaign,  the  volunteers  com 
menced  their  journey  on  the  7th  of  January,  1813,  and 
descending  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  through  cold  and 
ice,  arrived  and  halted  at  Natchez.  Here  Jackson  had 
been  instructed  to  remain  until  he  should  receive  further 
orders.  Having  chosen  a  healthy  site  for  the  encamp 
ment  of  his  troops,  he  devoted  his  time  with  the  utmost 
industry,  to  training  and  preparing  them  for  active  service. 
The  clouds  of  war  in  that  quarter  having  temporarily 
blown  over,  an  order  was  received,  soon  after  his  arrival, 
from  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  the  5th  of  January,  1813, 
directing  him,  on  the  receipt  thereof,  to  dismiss  the  men 
under  his  command  from  service,  and  to  take  measures 
for  delivering  over  every  article  of  public  property  in  his 
possession  to  Brigadier-General  Wilkinson. 
3 


50  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

When  this  order  reached  the  camp  of  General  Jackson, 
there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  on  the  sick  report, 
fifty-six  of  whom  were  unable  to  rise  from  their  beds,  and 
almost  the  whole  number  were  without  the  moans  of  de 
fraying  the  expenses  of  their  return.  The  consequence 
of  a  strict  compliance  with  the  Secretary's  order,  would 
inevitably  have  been,  that  many  of  the  sick  must  have 
perished,  while  most  of  the  others,  from  their  destitute 
condition,  would,  of  necessity,  have  been  compelled  to 
enlist  in  the  regular  army,  under  General  Wilkinson. 
Such  alternatives  were  neither  congenial  with  their  ge 
neral's  wishes,  nor  such  as  they  had  expected,  on  ad 
venturing  with  him  in  the  service  of  their  country.  He 
had  taken  them  from  home,  and  he  regarded  it  as  a  solemn 
duty  to  bring  them  back.  Whether  an  expectation  that, 
by  this  plan,  many  of  them  would  be  forced  into  the 
regular  ranks,  had  formed  any  part  of  the  motive  that 
occasioned  the  order  for  their  discharge,  at  so  great  a  dis 
tance  from  home,  cannot  be  known  ;  and  it  would  be  un 
charitable  to  insinuate  against  the  government  so  serious 
an  accusation,  without  the  strongest  evidence  to  support 
it.  Be  this  as  it  may,  General  Jackson  could  not  think 
of  sacrificing,  or  injuring,  an  army  that  had  shown  such 
devotedness  to  their  country  ;  and  he  determined  to  dis 
regard  the  order,  and  march  them  again  to  their  homes, 
where  they  had  been  embodied,  rather  than  to  discharge 
them  where  they  would  be  exposed  to  the  greatest  hard 
ships  and  dangers.  To  this  measure  he  was  prompted, 
not  only  by  the  reasons  already  mentioned,  but  by  the 
consideration  that  many  of  them  were  young  men,  tht 
children  of  his  neighbors  and  acquaintances,  who  had  de» 
livered  them  into  his  hands,  as  to  a  guardian,  with  the  ex 
pectation  that  he  would  watch  over  and  protect  them. 
To  have  abandoned  them,  therefore,  at  such  a  time,  and 
under  such  circumstances,  would  have  drawn  on  him  the 
merited  censure  of  the  most  deserving  part  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  deeply  wounded  his  own  generous  feelings. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  young  men  who  were  confined  by 
sickness,  learning  the  nature  of  the  order  he  had  received, 
implored  him,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  not  to  abandon 


DISOBEDIENCE    OF    ORDERS.  51 

them  in  so  great  an  extremity,  and  reminded  him,  at  the 
same  time,  of  his  assurance  that  he  would  be  to  them  as  a 
father,  and  of  the  implicit  confidence  they  had  placed  in 
his  word.  This  was  an  appeal  which  it  would  have  been 
difficult  for  Jackson  to  have  resisted,  had  he  been  inclined 
to  disregard  other  considerations  ;  but  influenced  by  them 
all,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  coming  to  a  determination. 

Having  made  known  his  resolution  to  the  field-officers 
f  his  division,  it  apparently  met  their  approbation ;  but 
after  retiring  from  his  presence,  they  assembled  late  at 
night,  in  secret  caucus,  and  proceeded  to  recommend  to 
him  an  abandonment  of  his  purpose,  and  an  immediate 
discharge  of  the  troops.  Great  as  was  the  astonishment 
which  this  movement  excited  in  the  general,  it  produced 
a  still  stronger  feeling  of  indignation.  In  reply,  he 
urged  the  duplicity  of  their  conduct,  and  reminded  them 
that  although  to  those  who  possessed  money  and  health, 
such  a  course  could  produce  no  inconvenience,  yet  to  the 
unfortunate  soldier,  who  was  alike  destitute  of  both,  no 
measure  could  be  more  calamitous.  He  concluded,  by 
telling  them,  that  his  resolution,  not  having  been  hastily 
concluded  on,  nor  founded  on  light  considerations,  was 
unalterably  fixed ;  and  that  immediate  preparations  must 
be  made  for  carrying  into  execution  the  determination  he 
had  formed. 

He  lost  no  time  in  making  known  to  the  Secretary  of 
War  the  resolution  he  had  adopted,  to  disregard  the  order 
he  had  received,  and  to  return  his  army  to  the  place  where 
he  had  received  it.  He  painted,  in  strong  terms,  the  evils 
which  the  course  pursued  by  the  government  was  calcu 
lated  to  produce,  and  expressed  the  astonishment  he  felt, 
that  it  should  ever  have  been  seriously  determined  on. 

General  Wilkinson,  to  whom  the  public  stores  were 
directed  to  be  delivered,  learning  the  determination  which 
had  been  taken  by  Jackson  to  march  his  troops  back,  and 
to  take  with  them  such  articles  as  might  be  necessary  for 
their  return,  in  a  letter  of  solemn  and  mysterious  import 
admonished  him  of  the  consequences  which  were  before 
him,  and  of  the  awful  and  dangerous  responsibility  he  was 
taking  on  himself  by  so  bold  a  measure.  General  Jack- 


52  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

son  replied,  that  his  conduct,  and  the  consequences  to 
which  it  might  lead,  had  been  deliberately  weighed,  and 
well  considered,  and  that  he  was  prepared  to  abide  the 
result,  whatever  it  might  be.  Wilkinson  had  previously 
given  orders  to  his  officers,  to  recruit  from  Jackson's  army : 
but  they  were  advised,  on  their  first  appearance,  that  those 
troops  were  already  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  that,  thus  situated,  they  should  not  be  enlisted ;  and 
that  General  Jackson  would  arrest,  and  confine,  the  first 
officer  who  dared  to  enter  his  encampment  with  any  such 
object  in  view. 

The  quarter-master,  having  been  ordered  to  furnish  the 
necessary  transportation  for  the  conveyance  of  the  sick 
and  the  baggage  to  Tennessee,  immediately  set  about  the 
performance  of  the  task  ;  but,  as  the  event  proved,  without 
any  intention  to  execute  it.  Still  he  continued  to  keep 
up  the  semblance  of  exertion ;  and,  on  the  very  day  before 
that  which  had  been  appointed  for  breaking  up  the  en 
campment  and  commencing  the  return  march,  eleven 
wagons  arrived  there  by  his  order.  But  early  the  next 
morning,  when  every  thing  was  about  to  be  packed  up,  he 
entered  the  encampment,  and  discharged  the  whole.  He 
was  grossly  mistaken,  however,  in  the  man  he  had  to  deal 
with,  and  had  now  played  his  tricks  too  far  to  be  able  to 
accomplish  the  object,  which,  without  doubt,  he  had  been 
intrusted  to  effect.  Disregarding  their  dismissal,  so  evi 
dently  designed  to  prevent  marching  back  his  men,  Ge 
neral  Jackson  seized  upon  the  wagons,  yet  within  his 
lines,  and  compelled  them  to  proceed  in  the  transporta 
tion  of  his  sick.  Among  them  was  a  young  man,  reported 
by  the  surgeon  to  be  in  a  dying  condition,  whom  it  was 
useless  to  remove.  "  Not  a  man  shall  be  left  who  has  life 
in  him,"  said  the  general.  The  young  man  was  lifted 
into  a  wagon,  in  a  state  of  torpor,  and  wholly  insensible. 
The  melancholy  march  commenced ;  and  the  general, 
with  parental  solicitude,  passed  along  the  train,  taking 
special  care  that  the  invalids,  in  position  and  appliances, 
should  have  every  comfort  of  which  their  situation  was 
susceptible.  With  peculiar  anxiety,  he  watched  the  ap 
parently  dying  youth,  as  he  was  jostled  by  the  movements 


SUFFERINGS   ON    THE    MARCH    HOME.  OO 

of  the  wagon.  At  length  the  young  man  opened  his  eyes, 
and  the  next  instant  exclaimed,  "  Where  am  I  ?" 

"  On  your  way  home,  my  good  fellow,"  replied  the 
general,  in  a  cheering  tone.  The  effect  was  electric ;  he 
improved  from  that  moment,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the 
general  had  the  pleasure  of  restoring  him,  in  good  health, 
to  his  family  and  friends.  It  deserves  to  be  mentioned, 
that  the  quarter-master,  as  soon  as  he  received  directions 
for  furnishing  transportation,  had  despatched  an  express 
to  General  Wilkinson ;  and  there  can  be  little  question, 
that  the  course  of  duplicity  he  afterwards  pursued,  was  a 
concerted  plan  between  him  and  that  general,  to  defeat  the 
design  of  Jackson,  compel  him  to  abandon  the  determina 
tion  he  had  formed,  and,  in  this  way,  draw  to  the  re 
gular  army  many  of  the  soldiers,  who  would  be  driven 
to  enlist.  In  this  attempt  they  were  fortunately  disap 
pointed.  Adhering  to  his  original  purpose,  General  Jack 
son  successfully  resisted  every  stratagem  of  Wilkinson, 
and  marched  the  whole  of  his  division  to  the  section  of 
country  whence  they  had  beeri^lrawn,  and  dismissed  them 
from  service,  in  the  spring  of  1813. 

In  addition  to  the  philanthropic  act  we  have  just  de 
tailed,  General  Jackson  gave  up  his  own  horses  to  the 
sick,  and,  trudging  along  on  foot,  submitted  to  all  the  pri 
vations  that  were  endured  by  the  soldiers.  It  was  at  a  time 
of  the  year  when  the  roads  were  extremely  bad ;  and  the 
swamps  along  their  route  were  deep  and  full ;  yet,  under 
these  circumstances,  he  gave  his  troops  an  example  of 
patience  and  endurance  of  hardship  that  lulled  to  silence 
all  complaints,  and  won  for  him  additional  respect  and 
esteem.  On  arriving  at  Nashville,  he  communicated  to 
the  president  of  the  United  States  the  course  he  had  pur 
sued,  and  the  reasons  that  had  induced  it.  If  it  had  be 
come  necessary,  he  had  sufficient  grounds  on  which  he 
could  have  justified  his  conduct.  Had  he  suffered  Gene 
ral  Wilkinson  to  have  accomplished  what  was  clearly  his 
intention,  although  it  was  an  event  which  might,  at  the 
moment,  have  benefited  the  service,  by  adding  an  in 
creased  strength  to  the  army,  yet  the  example  would  have 
been  of  so  serious  and  exceptionable  a  character,  that  in- 


54  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

jury  would  have  been  the  final  and  unavoidable  result. 
Whether  the  intention  of  thus  forcing  these  men  to  enlist 
into  the  regular  ranks,  had  its  existence  under  the  direc 
tion  of  the  government  or  not,  such  would  have  been  the 
universal  belief;  and  all  would  have  felt  a  deep  abhor 
rence,  at  beholding  the  citizens  of  the  country  drawn  off 
from  their  homes  under  pretence  of  danger ;  while  the 
concealed  design  was,  to  reduce  them  to  such  necessity, 
at  a  distance  from  their  residence,  as  to  compel  them  to  an 
act  which  they  would  have  avoided  under  different  cir 
cumstances.  His  conduct,  exceptionable  as  it  might  at 
first  appear,  was,  in  the  end,  approved,  and  .the  expenses 
incurred  were  directed  to  be  paid  by  the  government. 
General  Armstrong,  the  secretary  of  war,  by  whom  the 
cruel  and  unfeeling  order  was  issued,  was  soon  after  se 
verely  censured,  and  forced  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  cabi 
net,  on  account  of  his  culpable  neglect  to  provide  suitable 
means  of  defence  for  the  city  of  Washington.  The  re 
putation  of  General  Wilkinson,  who  had  been  appointed 
to  supplant  Jackson,  was  al$o  tarnished,  by  his  unfortunate 
operations  in  Canada,  during  the  campaign  of  1814. 


INDIAN    HOSTILITIES.  65 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1813.  Depredations  committed  by  the  Creeks  on  the  borders  of  Ten 
nessee  and  Kentucky — Attack  on  Fort  Mimrns— Preparations  for 
war — Jackson  calls  out  the  volunteers  and  militia — Address  to  the 
troops — Takes  the  field — Enforces  strict  military  discipline — Rapid 
march  to  Huntsville — Delay  in  forwarding  supplies — Thwarted  in 
his  movements  by  General  Cocke — Jealousy  of  the  latter — Scarci 
ty  of  provisions — Efforts  of  Jackson  to  procure  supplies — Address 
to  the  soldiers  on  entering  the  enemy's  country— Arrival  at  the 
Ten  Islands — Difficulty  with  the  contractors — Destitute  condition 
of  the  army — Battle  of  Tallushatchee — Humanity  of  Jackson — 
His  adoption  of  an  Indian  boy.  1813. 

THE  repose  of  General  Jackson  and  his  volunteers  was 
of  short  duration.  They  had  scarcely  reached  their  homes, 
when  the  Indian  nations  scattered  over  the  territory  com 
posing  the  states  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  made  in 
cursions  into  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  and  committed 
the  most  savage  murders  and  cruelties.  The  frontier 
settlements  were  constantly  harassed  by  their  depreda 
tions,  and  one  atrocious  act  of  barbarity  followed  so  close 
ly  on  another,  that  the  inhabitants  began  to  fear  the  worst 
from  the  revengeful  spirit  which  Tecumseh,  and  his  bro 
ther,  the  prophet,  who  were  secretly  aided  and  encouraged 
by  the  English  government,  had  aroused  in  the  breasts  of 
their  followers.  The  Creek  Indians,  residing  in  the  vici 
nity  of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  rivers,  were  the  most 
hostile  and  vindictive  of  all  the  tribes.  Having  collected 
a  supply  of  ammunition,  from  the  Spaniards  at  Pensacola, 
a  party  of  their  warriors,  numbering  about  seven  hundred 
men,  commanded  by  Weatherford,  a  distinguished  chief 
of  the  nation,  made  an  attack  on  Fort  Mimms,  situated 
in  the  Tensaw  settlement,  in  the  territory  of  Mississippi. 
The  fort  was  occupied  by  Major  Beasley,  with  a  force  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  a  large  number  of  women 


56  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

and  children  who  had  sought  shelter  and  protection.  The 
assault  was  commenced  on  the  30th  of  August,  1813,  and 
proved  to  be  successful.  A  most  dreadful  slaughter  took 
place.  Mercy  was  shown  to  none  ;  neither  age  nor  sex 
were  respected ;  and  the  same  stroke  of  the  tomahawk 
often  cleft  mother  and  child.  But  seventeen  of  the  whole 
number  of  persons  in  the  fort  made  their  escape. 

As  soon  as  the  intelligence  of  this  monstrous  outrage 
reached  Tennessee,  the  authorities  of  that  state  took  im 
mediate  measures  to  chastise  the  perpetrators.  All  eyes 
were  instinctively  turned  towards  General  Jackson,  who, 
though  suffering  severely  from  a  fractured  arm,  promptly 
responded  to  the  orders  of  his  government  by  calling  out 
the  militia  and  volunteers.  In  his  proclamation,  he  made 
a  special  appeal  to  those  who  had  accompanied  him  to 
Natchez,  to  join  him  on  this  occasion.  He  pointed  out  the 
imperious  necessity  that  demanded  their  services,  and 
urged  them  to  be  punctual.  "  Already,"  said  he,  "are 
large  bodies  of  the  hostile  Creeks  marching  to  your  bor 
ders,  with  their  scalping-knives  unsheathed,  to  butcher 
your  women  and  children  :  time  is  not  to  be  lost.  We; 
must  hasten  to  the  frontier,  or  we  shall  find  it  drenched  in 
the  blood  of  our  citizens.  The  health  of  your  general  is 
restored — he  will  command  in  person."  In  the  mean 
time,  until  these  troops  could  be  collected  and  organized, 
Colonel  Coffee,  with  the  force  then  under  his  command, 
and  such  additional  mounted  riflemen  as  could  be  attached 
at  a  short  notice,  was  directed  to  hasten  forward  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Huntsville,  and  occupy  some  eligible 
position  for  the  defence  of  the  frontier. 

The  4th  of  October,  which  was  the  day  appointed  for 
the  rendezvous,  having  arrived,  and  the  general  not  being 
sufficiently  recovered  to  attend  in  person,  he  forwarded  by 
his  aid-de-camp,  Major  Reid,  an  address,  to  be  read  to  the 
troops,  in  which  he  pointed  out  the  unprovoked  injuries 
they  were  called  upon  to  redress,  in  the  following  eloquent 
and  stirring  appeal : 

"  We  are  about  to  furnish  these  savages  a  lesson  of  ad 
monition ;  we  are  about  to  teach  them  that  our  long  for 
bearance  has  not  proceeded  from  an  insensibility  to  wrongs, 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  VOLUNTEERS.  57 

or  an  inability  to  redress  them.  They  stand  in  need  of  such 
warning.  In  proportion  as  we  have  borne  with  their  insults, 
and  submitted  to  their  outrages,  they  have  multiplied  in 
number,and  increased  in  atrocity.  But  the  measure  of  their 
offences  is  at  length  filled.  The  blood  of  our  women  and 
children,  recently  spilt  at  Fort  Mimms,  calls  for  our  ven 
geance  ;  it  must  not  call  in  vain.  Our  borders  must  no  longer 
be  disturbed  by  the  war-whoop  of  these  savages,  and  the 
cries  of  their  suffering  victims.  The  torch  that  has  been 
lighted  up  must  be  made  to  blaze  in  the  heart  of  their 
own  country.  It  is  time  they  should  be  made  to  feel  the 
weight  of  a  power,  which,  because  it  was  merciful,  they 
believed  to  be  impotent.  But  how  shall  a  war  so  long 
forborne,  and  so  loudly  called  for  by  retributive  justice,  be 
waged  ?  Shall  we  imitate  the  example  of  our  enemies,  in 
the  disorder  of  their  movements  and  the  savageness  of 
their  dispositions  ?  Is  it  worthy  the  character  of  American 
soldiers,  who  take  up  arms  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  an 
injured  country,  to  assume  no  better  models  than  those  fur 
nished  them  by  barbarians  ?  No,  fellow-soldiers ;  great 
as  are  the  grievances  that  have  called  us  from  our  homes, 
we  must  not  permit  disorderly  passions  to  tarnish  the  re 
putation  we  shall  carry  along  with  us.  We  must  and  will 
be  victorious  ;  but  we  must  conquer  as  men  who  owe  no 
thing  to  chance,  and  who,  in  the  midst  of  victory,  can  still 
be  mindful  of  what  is  due  to  humanity  ! 

"  We  will  commence  the  campaign  by  an  inviolable 
attention  to  discipline  and  subordination.  Without  a  strict 
observance  of  these,  victory  must  ever  be  uncertain,  and 
ought  hardly  to  be  exulted  in,  even  when  gained.  To 
what  but  the  entire  disregard  of  order  and  subordination, 
are  we  to  ascribe  the  disasters  which  have  attended  our 
arms  in  the  north  during  the  present  war  ?  How  glorious 
will  it  be  to  remove  the  blots  which  have  tarnished  the 
fair  character  bequeathed  us  by  the  fathers  of  our  revolu 
tion  !  The  bosom  of  your  general  is  full  of  hope.  He 
knows  the  ardor  which  animates  you,  and  already  exults 
in  the  triumph  which  your  strict  observance  of  discipline 
and  good  order  will  render  certain!*' 

Accompanying  this  address,  was  the  following  order  for 
3* 


58  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

the  establishment  of  the  police  of  the  camp,  which  strik 
ingly  illustrates  his  promptitude  and  decision  as  a  mili 
tary  commander : 

"  The  chain  of  sentinels  will  be  marked,  and  the  sen 
tries,  posted,  precisely  at  ten  o'clock  to-day. 

"  No  sutler  will  be  suffered  to  sell  spirituous  liquors  to 
an}  soldier,  without  permission  in  writing,  from  a  com 
missioned  officer,  under  the  penalties  prescribed  by  the 
rules  and  articles  of  war. 

"  No  citizen  will  be  permitted  to  pass  the  chain  of  sen 
tineis  after  retreat-beat  in  the  evening,  until  reveille  in  the 
morning.  Drunkenness,  the  bane  of  all  orderly  encamp 
ments,  is  positively  forbidden,  both  in  officers  and  privates : 
officers,  under  the  penalty  of  immediate  arrest;  and  pri 
vates,  of  being  placed  under  guard,  there  to  remain  until 
liberated  by  a  court-martial. 

"  At  reveille-beat,  all  officers  and  soldiers  are  to  appear 
on  parade,  with  their  arms  and  accoutrements  in  proper 
order. 

"  On  parade,  silence,  the  duty  of  a  soldier,  is  positively 
commanded. 

"  No  officer  or  soldier  is  to  sleep  out  of  camp,  but  by 
permission  obtained." 

However  harsh  it  may  at  first  blush  appear,  to  attempt 
the  enforcement  of  such  rules,  in  the  very  first  stage  of 
military  discipline,  yet  the  conduct  of  General  Jackson 
was  dictated  by  the  most  praiseworthy  motives.  The 
expedition  on  which  he  was  about  to  march  was  certain 
to  be  both  difficult  and  dangerous.  He  was  aware  that 
hardships  must  of  necessity  be  endured,  which  would 
appal  and  dispirit  his  troops,  if  they  were  not  early  taught 
the  lesson  of  strict  compliance  with  the  orders  of  their 
commander ;  and  he  considered  it  much  safer,  therefore, 
to  lay  before  them  at  once  the  rules  of  conduct  to  which 
they  would  be  required  to  conform. 

Impatient  to  join  his  division,  although  his  health  was 
far  from  being  restored,  the  general,  in  a  few  days  after 
wards,  set  out  for  the  encampment,  which  he  reached  on 
the  7th  of  October,  ttn  the  evening  of  the  following  day, 
a  letter  was  received  from  Colonel  Coffee,  who  had  pro 


MARCH  INTO  THE  CREEK  COUNTRY.         59 

ceeded  with  his  mounted  volunteers  to  Huntsviile,  dated 
two  days  before,  and  informing  the  general  that  two  friend 
ly  Indians  had  just  arrived  at  the  Tennessee  river,  from 
Chinnaby's  fort,  on  the  Coosa,  from  whom  he  learned  that 
a  party  of  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  Creeks  had  been 
despatched  to  attack  the  frontiers  of  Georgia,  and  that  the 
remainder  of  their  warriors  were  marching  against  Hunts 
viile,  or  Fort  Hampton.  On  the  9th  instant,  another  ex 
press  arrived,  confirming  the  former  statement,  and  repre 
senting  the  enemy,  in  great  force,  to  be  rapidly  approach 
ing  the  Tennessee.  Orders  were  now  given  for  preparing 
the  line  of  march,  and  by  nine  o'clock  on  the  10th,  the 
whole  division  was  in  motion.  They  had  not  proceeded 
many  miles,  when  they  were  met  with  the  intelligence 
that  Colonel  Gibson,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  Coffee  to 
reconnoitre  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  had  been  killed 
by  their  advance.  A  strong  desire  had  been  previously 
manifested  to  be  led  forward ;  that  desire  was  now  strength 
ened  by  the  information  just  received  ;  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  the  troops  could  be  restrained.  They  has 
tened  their  march,  and  before  eight  o'clock  at  night  arrived 
at  Huntsviile,  a  distance  of  thirty-two  miles.  Learning 
here  that  the  information  was  erroneous  which  had  occa 
sioned  so  hasty  a  movement,  the  general  encamped  his 
troops ;  having  intended  to  reach  the  Tennessee  river 
that  night  had  it  been  confirmed.  The  next  day  the  line 
of  march  was  resumed.  The  influence  of  the  late  excite 
ment  was  now  visible  in  the  lassitude  which  followed  its 
removal.  Proceeding  slowly,  the  division  crossed  the 
Tennessee  at  Ditto's  landing,  and  united  in  the  evening 
with  Colonel  Coffee's  regiment,  which  had  previously  oc 
cupied  a  commanding  bluff  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river. 
From  this  place,  a  few  days  afterwards,  Jackson  detached 
Colonel  Coffee,  with  seven  hundred  men,  to  scour  the 
Black  Warrior,  a  stream  running  from  the  northeast,  and 
emptying  into  the  Tombigbee  ;  on  which  were  supposed 
to  be  situated  several  populous  villages  of  the  enemy.  He 
himself  remained  at  the  encampment  a  week,  busily  oc 
cupied  in  drilling  his  troops,  and  in  endeavouring  to  pro 
cure  the  necessary  supplies  for  a  campaign,  which  he 


60  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

had  determined  to  carry  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy's 
country. 

At  the  same  time  that  General  Jackson  took  up  his  line 
of  march  for  the  Creek  country,  General  Cocke  had  been 
ordered  with  an  equal  force  from  East  Tennessee  ;  while 
another  was  despatched  from  Georgia,  under  Major  Floyd, 
to  enter  the  Indian  territory  on  the  east;  and  a  regiment 
of  United  States  troops,  with  the  Mississippi  volunteers, 
under  General  Claiborne,  were  to  attack  the  hostile  tribes 
on  the  west.  An  arrangement  had  been  made  in  the  pre 
ceding  month,  with  General  Cocke,  to  furnish  large  quan 
tities  of  bread-stuff  at  Ditto's  landing,  for  the  troops  under 
Jackson.  The  facility  of  procuring  it  in  that  quarter,  and 
the  convenient  transportation  afforded  by  the  river,  left  no 
doubt  on  the  mind  of  the  latter  that  the  engagement  would 
be  punctually  complied  with.  To  provide,  however, 
against  the  bare  possibility  of  a  failure,  and  to  be  guarded 
against  all  contingencies  that  might  happen,  he  addressed 
letters  to  the  governor  of  Georgia,  Colonel  Meigs,  the 
Cherokee  agent,  and  General  White,  who  commanded  the 
advance  of  the  East  Tennessee  troops,  urging  them  to 
send  forward  supplies  with  all  possible  haste.  General 
Cocke,  who  had  been  ordered  to  join  him  with  the  forces 
cinder  his  command,  not  only  failed  to  come  up  in  season, 
but  neglected  to  furnish  the  provisions  he  had  engaged  to 
procure.  The  conduct  of  this  officer  was  severely  cen 
sured  at  the  time,  and  it  is  quite  evident  that  most  of  his 
movements  during  the  campaign  were  prompted  by  a  de 
sire  to  thwart  the  operations  of  Jackson. 

On  his  arrival  at  Ditto's  landing,  General  Jackson  found 
that  the  contractors  were  utterly  unable  to  fulfil  their  en 
gagements,  and  he  was  therefore  compelled  to  wait  patient 
ly  for  the  supplies  which  had  so  long  been  promised,  and 
were  hourly  expected.  While  he  was  encamped  there, 
a  son  of  Chinnaby,  one  of  the  principal  chiefs  among  the 
friendly  Creeks,  a  large  body  of  whom  had  refused  to  unite 
with  their  countrymen  in  making  war  against  the  Ameri 
cans,  arrived  at  the  landing,  and  requested  a  movement 
to  be  made  for  the  relief  of  his  father's  fort,  which  was 
threatened  by  a  considerable  body  of  the  wars  party.  In- 


FAILURE    OF    THE    SUPPLIES.  61 

fluenced  by  his  representations,  the  general  gave  orders  for 
resuming  the  march  on  the  19th  of  October,  and  notified 
the  contractors  of  this  arrangement,  that  they  might  be 
prepared  to  issue  immediately  such  supplies  as  they  had 
on  hand  ;  but  to  his  great  astonishment,  he  was  then,  for 
the  first  time,  apprised  of  their  entire  inability  to  supply 
him  while  on  his  march.  Having  drawn  what  they  had 
it  in  their  power  to  furnish,  amounting  to  only  a  few  days' 
rations,  he  immediately  vacated  their  offices,  and  selected 
others  on  whose  industry  and  fidelity  he  thought  he  could 
more  safely  rely.  The  scarcity  of  his  provisions,  how 
ever,  was  not  sufficient  to  waive  the  determination  he  had 
already  made.  The  route  to  the  fort  lay  for  a  consider 
able  distance  ap  the  river,  and  he  hoped  to  meet  with  the 
boats  expected  from  Hiwassee  on  the  way.  He  accord 
ingly  determined  to  proceed,  and  having  safely  crossed  a 
range  of  mountains,  thought  to  be  almost  impassable  on 
foot,  with  his  army  and  baggage  wagons,  he  arrived  on. 
the  22d  of  October,  at  Thompson^  creek,  which  empties 
into  the  Tennessee,  twenty-four  miles  above  Ditto's.  At 
this  place  he  proposed  the  establishment  of  a  permanent 
depot,  for  the  reception  of  supplies,  to  be  sent  either  up  or 
down  the  river.  Disappointed  in  the  hopes  with  which 
he  had  ventured  on  his  march,  he  remained  here  several 
days  anxiously  looking  for  the  arrival  of  provisions.  Fear 
ing  that  this  culpable  neglect  might  involve  him  in  still 
further  embarrassments,  he  informed  Governor  Blount,  of 
Tennessee,  of  the  condition  of  things,  and  made  a  press 
ing  application  to  General  Flournoy,  who  commanded  at 
Mobile,  and  Colonel  McKee,  the  Choctaw  agent,  who  was 
then  on  the  Tornbigbee,  to  procure  bread-stuff  and  forward 
it  to  him  without  delay.  He  also  despatched  expresses  to 
General  White,  who  had  arrived  at, the  Look-out  moun 
tain,  in  the  Cherokee  nation,  urging  him  by  all  means  to 
hasten  on  the  supplies. 

While  these  measures  were  in  progress,  two  runners, 
despatched  from  Turkeytown  by  Path-killer,  a  chief  of 
the  Cherokees,  arrived  at  the  camp.  They  brought  infor 
mation  that  the  enemy,  from  nine  of  the  hostile  towns, 
were  assembling  in  great  force  near  the  Ten  Islands  ;  and 


62  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

solicited  that  immediate  assistance  should  be  afforded  the 
friendly  Creeks  and  Cherokees  in  their  neighborhood,  who 
were  exposed  to  imminent  danger.  His  want  of  provi 
sions  was  not  yet  remedied  ;  but  distributing  the  partial 
supply  that  was  on  hand,  he  resolved  to  proceed,  in  ex 
pectation  that  the  relief  he  had  so  earnestly  looked  for, 
would  in  a  little  while  arrive,  and  be  forwarded.  In  order 
to  prepare  his  troops  for  the  engagement  he  anticipated, 
he  addressed  them  as  follows,  in  his  usual  nervous  and 
spirited  style : 

"  You  have,  fellow-soldiers,  at  length  penetrated  the 
country  of  your  enemies.  It  is  not  to  be  believed  that 
they  will  abandon  the  soil  that  imbosoms  the  bones  of  their 
forefathers,  without  furnishing  you  an  opportunity  of  sig 
nalizing  your  valor.  Wise  men  do  not  expect ;  brave  men 
will  not  desire  it.  It  was  not  to  travel  unmolested  through 
a  barren  wilderness,  that  you  quitted  your  families  and 
homes,  and  submitted  to  so  many  privations ;  it  was  to 
avenge  the  cruelties  committed  upon  our  defenceless 
frontiers  by  the  inhuman  Creeks,  instigated  by  their  no 
less  inhuman  allies.  You  shall  not  be  disappointed.  If 
the  enemy  flee  before  us,  we  will  overtake  and  chastise 
him  :  we  will  teach  him  how  dreadful,  when  once  aroused, 
is  the  resentment  of  freemen.  But  it  is  not  by  boasting 
that  punishment  is  to  be  inflicted,  or  victory  obtained. 
The  same  resolution  that  prompted  us  to  take  up  arms, 
must  inspire  us  in  battle.  Men  thus  animated,  and  thus 
resolved,  barbarians  can  never  conquer ;  and  it  is  an 
enemy  barbarous  in  the  extreme  that  we  have  now  to  face. 
Their  reliance  will  be  on  the  damage  they  can  do  you 
while  you  are  asleep,  and  unprepared  for  action  :  their 
hopes  shall  fail  them  in  the  hour  of  experiment.  Soldiers 
who  know  their  duty,  and  are  ambitious  to  perform  it,  are 
not  to  be  taken  by  surprise.  Our  sentinels  will  never 
sleep,  nor  our  soldiers  be  unprepared  for  action  ;  yet, 
while  it  is  enjoined  upon  the  sentinels  vigilantly  to  watch 
the  approach  of  the  foe,  they  are  at  the  same  time  com 
manded  not  to  fire  at  shadows.  Imaginary  dangers  must 
not  deprive  them  of  entire  self-possession.  Our  soldiers 
will  lie  with  their  arms  in  their  hands ;  and  the  moment 


ADDRESS   TO    HIS   TROOPS.  63 

an  alarm  is  given,  they  will  move  to  their  respective  posi 
tions,  without  noise  and  without  confusion.  They  will  be 
thus  enabled  to  hear  the  orders  of  their  officers,  and  to 
obey  them  with  promptitude. 

"  Great  reliance  will  be  placed,  by  the  enemy,  on  the 
consternation  they  may  be  able  to  spread  through  our 
ranks,  by  the  hideous  yells  with  which  they  commence 
their  battles  ;  but  brave  men  will  laugh  at  such  efforts  to 
alarm  them.  It  is  not  by  bellowings  and  screams,  that 
the  wounds  of  death  are  inflicted.  You  will  teach  these 
noisy  assailants  how  weak  are  their  weapons  of  warfare, 
by  opposing  them  with  the  bayonet.  What  Indian  ever 
withstood  its  charge  ?  what  army,  of  any  nation,  ever 
withstood  it  long  ? 

"  Yes,  soldiers,  the  order  for  a  charge  will  be  the  signal 
for  victory.  In  that  moment,  your  enemy  will  be  seen 
fleeing  in  every  direction  before  you.  But  in  the  moment 
of  action,  coolness  and  deliberation  must  be  regarded  ; 
your  fires  made  with  precision  and  aim;  and  when  ordered 
to  charge  with  the  bayonet,  you  must  proceed  to  the  as 
sault,  with  a  quick  and  firm  step,  without  trepidation  or 
alarm.  Then  shall  you  behold  the  completion  of  your 
hopes,  in  the  discomfiture  of  your  enemy.  Your  general, 
whose  duty,  as  well  as  inclination,  is  to  watch  over  your 
safety,  will  not,  to  gratify  any  wishes  of  his  own,  urge  you 
unnecessarily  into  danger.  He  knows,  however,  that  it 
is  not  in  assailing  an  enemy  that  men  are  destroyed  ;  it  is 
when  retreating,  and  in  confusion.  Aware  of  this,  he  will 
be  prompted  as  much  by  a  regard  for  your  lives  as  your 
honor.  He  laments  that  he  has  been  compelled,  even 
incidentally,  to  hint  at  a  retreat,  when  speaking  to  free 
men  and  to  soldiers.  Never,  until  you  forget  all  that  is 
due  to  yourselves  and  your  country,  will  you  have  any 
ractical  understanding  of  that  word.  Shall  an  enemy 
wholly  unacquainted  with  military  evolutions,  and  who 
rely  more  for  victory  on  their  grim  visages  and  hideous 
yells,  than  upon  their  bravery  or  their  weapons;  shall 
such  an  enemy  ever  drive  before  them  the  well-trained 
youths  of  our  country,  whose  bosoms  pant  for  glory,  and  a 
desire  to  avenge  the  wrongs  they  have  received  ?  Your 


84  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

general  will  not  live  to  behold  such  a  spectacle  ;  rather 
would  he  rush  into  the  thickest  of  the  enemy,  and  submit 
himself  to  their  scalping-knives :  but  he  has  no  fears  of 
such  a  result.  He  knows  the  valor  of  the  men  he  com 
mands  ;  and  how  certainly  that  valor,  regulated  as  it  will 
be,  will  lead  to  victory.  With  his  soldiers,  he  will  face 
all  dangers,  and  with  them  participate  in  the  glory  of 
conquest." 

Having  issued  this  address,  and  again  instructed  Ge 
neral  White  to  form  a  junction  with  him,  and  send  on  all 
the  supplies  he  could  command,  General  Jackson  resumed 
his  march,  with  about  six  days'  rations  of  meat,  and  less 
than  two  of  meal.  The  arrny  had  advanced  but  a  short 
distance,  when  unexpected  embarrassments  were  again 
presented.  Information  was  received,  by  which  it  was 
clearly  ascertained  that  the  present  contractors,  who  had 
been  so  much  and  so  certainly  relied  on,  could  not,  with 
all  their  exertions,  procure  the  necessary  supplies.  Major 
Rose,  of  the  quarter-master's  department,  who  had  been 
sent  into  Madison  county  to  aid  them  in  their  endeavors, 
having  satisfied  himself,  as  well  from  their  own  admis 
sions  as  from  evidence  derived  from  other  sources,  that  their 
want  of  funds,  and  consequent  want  of  credit,  rendered 
them  a  very  unsafe  dependence,  returned,  and  disclosed 
the  facts  to  the  general.  He  stated  that  there  were  per 
sons  of  fortune  and  industry  in  that  county,  who  might  be 
confided  in,  and  who  would  be  willing  to  contract  for  the 
army  if  it  were  necessary.  Jackson  lost  no  time  in  em 
bracing  this  plan,  and  gave  the  contract  to  Mr.  Pope,  in 
whose  means  and  exertions  he  believed  every  reliance 
might  be  reposed.  At  the  same  time,  he  wrote  to  the 
other  contractors,  stating,  that  although  he  might  manage 
with  generosity  or  indulgence,  whatever  concerned  him 
self  as  a  private  citizen,  in  his  public  capacity  he  had  no 
such  discretion ;  and  that  he  therefore  felt  compelled  to 
give  the  contract  to  one  who  was  able  to  execute  it,  on 
condition  that  they  were  indemnified  for  their  trouble. 

This  arrangement  being  made,  the  army  continued  its 
march,  and  having  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Ten 
Islands,  was  met  by  the  Indian  chief,  Chinnaby.  He 


SCARCITY   OF    PROVISIONS.  65 

brought  with  him,  and  surrendered  up,  two  of  the  hostile 
Creeks,  who  had  lately  been  made  prisoners  by  his  party. 
At  this  place  it  was  represented  that  they  were  within 
sixteen  miles  of  the  enemy,  who  were  collected,  to  the 
number  of  a  thousand,  to  oppose  their  passage.  This 
information  was  little  relied  on,  and  afterwards  proved  un 
true.  Jackson  continued  his  route,  and  in  a  few  days 
reached  the  islands  of  the  Coosa,  having  been  detained  a 
day,  on  the  way,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  small  sup 
plies  of  corn  from  the  neighboring  Indians.  This  acqui 
sition  to  the  scanty  stock  on  hand,  while  it  afforded  subsist 
ence  for  the  present,  encouraged  his  hopes  for  the  future, 
as  a  means  of  temporary  resort,  should  his  other  resources 
fail. 

In  a  letter  to  Governor  Blount  from  this  place,  speaking 
of  the  difficulties  with  which  he  had  to  contend,  he  ob 
served  :  "  Indeed,  sir,  we  have  been  very  wretchedly 
supplied — scarcely  two  rations  in  succession  have  been 
regularly  drawn  ;  yet  we  are  not  despondent.  While  we 
can  procure  an  ear  of  corn  apiece,  or  any  thing  that  will 
answer  as  a  substitute  for  it,  we  shall  continue  our  exer 
tions  to  accomplish  the  object  for  which  we  were  sent. 
The  cheerfulness  with  which  my  men  submit  to  privations, 
and  are  ready  to  encounter  danger,  does  honor  to  them, 
and  to  the  government  whose  rights  they  are  defending." 

On  the  28th  of  October,  Colonel  Dyer,  who  had  been 
detached  from  the  main  body,  on  the  march  to  the  Ten 
Islands,  with  a  body  of  two  hundred  cavalry,  returned  to 
camp.  He  had  destroyed  the  Indian  village  of  Littafut- 
chee-town,  at  the  head  of  Canoe  creek,  and  brought  with 
him  twenty-nine  prisoners.  On  the  31st,  Jackson  de 
spatched  another  express  to  General  White,  repeating  his 
former  orders.  Soon  after,  he  received  information  that  a 
considerable  body  of  the  enemy  had  posted  themselves  at 
Tallushatchee,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Coosa,  about  thir 
teen  miles  distant ;  whereupon,  he  ordered  General  Coffee, 
with  nine  hundred  men,  to  attack  and  disperse  them. 
With  this  force  that  officer  was  enabled,  under  the  direc 
tion  of  an  Indian  pilot,  to  ford  the  Coosa  at  the  Fish-dams, 
about  four  miles  above  the  Islands  ;  and,  having  encamped 


66  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

beyond  it,  he  proceeded,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  3d 
of  November,  to  execute  the  order.  Having  arrived  with 
in  a  mile  and  a  half,  he  formed  his  detachment  into  two 
divisions,  and  directed  them  to  march  so  as  to  encircle  the 
town,  by  uniting  their  fronts  beyond  it.  The  enemy,  hear 
ing  of  his  approach,  began  to  prepare  for  action,  which 
was  announced  by  the  beating  of  drums,  mingled  with 
savage  yells  and  war-whoops.  An  hour  after  sunrise,  tha 
battle  was  commenced  by  Captain  Hammond's  and  Lieu 
tenant  Patterson's  companies  of  spies,  who  had  gone  with 
in  the  circle  of  alignment,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  the 
Indians  from  their  buildings.  No  sooner  had  these  com 
panies  exhibited  their  front  in  view  of  the  town,  and  given 
a  few  scattering  shots,  than  the  enemy  formed,  and  made 
a  violent  charge.  Being  compelled  to  give  way,  the  ad 
vance-guard  were  pursued  until  they  reached  the  main 
body  of  the  army,  which  immediately  opened  a  general 
fire,  and  charged  in  their  turn.  The  Indians  retreated, 
but  continued  firing,  until  they  reached  their  buildings, 
where  an  obstinate  conflict  ensued.  Those  who  main 
tained  their  ground,  persisted  in  fighting  as  long  as  they 
could  stand  or  sit,  without  manifesting  fear  or  soliciting 
quarter.  Their  loss  was  a  hundred  and  eighty-six  killed  ; 
among  whom,  unfortunately,  and  through  accident,  were 
a  few  women  and  children.  Eighty-four  women  and 
children  were  taken  prisoners,  towards  whom  the  utmost 
humanity  was  shown.  Of  the  Americans,  five  were 
killed  and  forty-one  wounded.  Two  were  killed  with 
arrows,  which  on  this  occasion  formed  a  principal  part  of 
the  arms  of  the  Indians  ;  each  one  having  a  bow  and 
quiver,  which  he  used  after  the  first  fire  of  his  gun,  until 
an  opportunity  occurred  for  reloading. 

Having  buried  his  dead  and  provided  for  his  wounded 
General  Coffee  united  with  the  main  army,  late  in  th 
evening  of  the  same  day,  bringing  with  him  about  forty 
prisoners.  Of  the  residue,  a  part  were  too  badly  wounded 
to  be  removed,  and  were  therefore  left,  with  a  sufficient 
number  to  take  care  of  them.  Those  whom  he  brought 
in,  received  every  comfort  their  situation  demanded,  and 
were  immediately  sent  into  the  settlements  for  security. 


THE    INDIAN    ORPHAN.  67 

Among  the  slain  at  the  battle  of  Tallushatchee,  there 
was  found  an  Indian  woman,  with  an  infant  boy,  unhurt, 
sucking  her  lifejess  breast.  The  little  orphan  was  carried 
to  camp  with  the  other  prisoners,  and  General  Jackson  at 
tempted  to  hire  some  of  the  captive  women  to  take  care 
of  him.  They  refused,  saying,  "All  his  relations  are 
dead ;  kill  him  too."  The  general  had  a  little  brown  sugar 
left,  and  he  directed  his  attendants  to  feed  the  child  with 
it  until  he  reached  Huntsville,  where  he  sent  him  to  be 
nursed  at  his  expense.  Upon  his  return  from  the  cam 
paign,  he  took  the  child  home,  named  him  Lincoyer,  and 
with  the  cordial  aid  of  Mrs.  Jackson,  raised  him  as  ten 
derly  as  if  he  had  been  his  own  son.  He  grew  to  be  a 
beautiful  and  robust  young  man,  as  well  educated  as  the 
white  boys  of  the  most  respectable  families.  Yet  his 
tastes  were  unchanged.  He  delighted  in  rambling  over 
the  fields  and  through  the  woods,  and  sticking  into  his 
hair  and  clothes  every  gay  feather  he  could  find.  He  was 
always  anxious  to  return  to  the  Creek  nation  with  the 
chiefs,  who,  for  many  years  after  the  war,  continued  to 
visit  General  Jackson  at  the  Hermitage,  as  his  residence 
was  called.  Desiring  that  he  should  follow  some  mecha 
nical  employment,  his  benefactor  took  him  into  the  va 
rious  shops  in  Nashville,  that  he  might  make  his  selec 
tion.  He  was  best  pleased  with  the  saddler's  business, 
and  was  accordingly  bound  out  as  an  apprentice  to  that 
trade.  Regularly  every  other  Saturday  he  visited  the 
Hermitage,  and  was  generally  sent  to  Nashville  on  horse 
back  the  next  Monday  morning.  His  health  beginning 
to  decline,  the  general  took  him  home  to  the  Hermitage, 
where  he  was  nursed  with  a  father's  and  mother's  tender 
ness  ;  but  in  vain.  He  sunk  rapidly  into  a  consumption, 
and  died  ere  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  manhood.  He 
was  mourned  as  a  favorite  son  by  the  general  and  Mrs. 
Jackson,  and  they  always  spoke  of  him  with  parental 
affection. 


LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  V. 

1813.  Erection  of  Fort  Strother,  and  establishment  of  a  depot  on  the 
Coosa — Continued  difficulties  growing  out  of  the  movements  of 
General  Cocke — Battle  of  Talladega — Gallant  conduct  of  Colonel 
Carroll  and  Lieutenant- Colonel  Dyer — Destitution  of  the  army — 
Generosity  and  benevolence  of  Jackson — His  example  in  submit 
ting  to  privations — Anecdote  of  the  acorns — Discontent  among  the 
troops — Mutiny  suppressed  by  his  firmness  and  resolution — His 
appeal  to  the  contractors  to  furnish  supplies — Answer  to  the  over 
tures  of  peace  made  by  the  Hillabee  tribes — Efforts  to  raise  addi 
tional  troops — Letter  to  his  friend  in  Tennessee — Demand  of  the 
volunteers  to  be  discharged,  on  the  ground  that  their  term  of  ser 
vice  had  expired — Reply  of  Jackson — His  unflinching  determina 
tion — Suppression  of  the  mutiny,  and  return  of  the  volunteers.  1813. 

IN  consequence  of  his  not  receiving  the  necessary  sup 
plies  of  provisions,  without  which  it  was  utterly  impossi 
ble  to  proceed,  General  Jackson  was  detained  for  nearly  a 
month,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Tennessee  river, 
without  being  able  to  penetrate  the  hostile  territory,  and 
strike  a  decisive  blow.  During  this  time,  he  erected 
a  fort  and  depot,  at  the  Ten  Islands,  which  was  called 
Fort  Strother.  It  was  his  intention,  after  completing  the 
works,  to  proceed  along  the  Coosa  to  its  junction  with  the 
Tallapoosa,  near  which,  it  was  expected,  from  informa 
tion  he  had  received,  that  the  main  force  of  the  enemy 
was  collected.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  in  safety,  he 
desired  to  unite  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  troops  from 
East  Tennessee.  The  advance  under  General  White  had 
arrived  at  Turkey-town,  twenty -five  miles  above,  and  on 
the  4th  of  November  an  express  was  despatched  to  him 
to  hasten  forward  immediately.  A  similar  message  was 
sent  on  the  7th  of  the  same  month,  but  failed  to  produce 
any  effect.  General  White  chose  rather  to  obey  the  or 
ders  of  the  immediate  commander  of  his  division,  General 
Cocke,  who  persisted  in  his  singular  efforts  to  thwart  the 


BATTLE    OF    TALLADEGA.  69 

movements  of  Jackson  and  the  forces  under  his  command. 
Although  he  endeavoured  to  shelter  himself  from  the 
consequences  of  his  unsoldierlike  conduct,  beneath  the 
decision  of  a  council  of  officers  which  he  had  formed, 
his  jealousy  of  General  Jackson  was  so  apparent,  that  the 
public  were  not  slow  in  forming  a  most  unfavorable  opi 
nion  of  his  character. 

As  yet,  no  certain  intelligence  had  been  received,  in 
regard  to  the  position  of  the  enemy.  Late,  however,  on 
the  evening  of  the  7th  of  November,  a  runner  arrived  from 
Talladega,  a  fort  of  the  friendly  Indians,  distant  about 
thirty  miles  below,  with  information  that  the  enemy  had 
that  morning  encamped  before  it  in  great  numbers,  and 
would  certainly  destroy  it,  unless  immediate  assistance 
could  be  afforded.  Confiding  in  the  statement,  Jackson 
determined  to  lose  no  time  in  extending  the  relief  which 
was  solicited.  Understanding  that  General  White,  agree 
ably  to  his  order,  was  on  his  way  to  join  him,  he  des 
patched  a  messenger  to  meet  him,  directing  him  to  reach 
his  encampment  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  night,  and 
to  protect  it  in  his  absence.  He  now  gave  orders  for  tak 
ing  up  the  line  of  march,  with  twelve  hundred  infantry, 
and  eight  hundred  cavalry  and  mounted  gun-men ;  leav 
ing  behind  the  sick,  the  wounded,  and  all  his  baggage, 
with  a  force  which  was  deemed  sufficient  for  their  protec 
tion,  until  the  reinforcement  from  Turkey-town  should 
arrive. 

The  friendly  Indians  who  had  taken  refuge  in  this 
besieged  fort,  had  involved  themselves  in  their  present 
perilous  situation  from  a  disposition  to  preserve  their 
amicable  relations  with  the  United  States.  To  suffer  them 
to  fall  a  sacrifice  from  any  tardiness  of  movement,  would 
have  been  unpardonable ;  and  unless  relief  should  be  im 
mediately  extended,  it  might  arrive  too  late.  Acting  under 
these  impressions,  the  general  concluded  to  move  instantly 
forward  to  their  assistance.  At  twelve  o'clock  at  night, 
every  thing  was  in  readiness  ;  and  in  an  hour  afterwards 
the  army  commenced  crossing  the  river,  about  a  mile 
above  the  camp ;  each  of  the  mounted  men  carrying  one 
of  the  infantry  behind  him.  The  river  at  this  place  was 


70  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

six  hundred  yards  wide,  and  it  being  necessary  to  send 
back  the  horses  for  the  remainder  of  the  infantry,  several 
hours  were  consumed  before  a  passage  of  all  the  troops 
could  be  effected.  Nevertheless,  though  greatly  fatigued 
and  deprived  of  sleep,  they  continued  the  march  with 
animation,  and  by  evening  had  arrived  within  six  miles 
of  the  enemy.  In  this  march,  Jackson  used  the  utmost 
precaution  to  prevent  surprise  :  marching  his  army,  as 
was  his  constant  custom,  in  three  columns,  so  that,  by  a 
speedy  man^uvre,  they  might  be  thrown  into  such  a  situ 
ation  as  to  be  capable  of  resisting  an  attack  from  any 
quarter.  Having  judiciously  encamped  his  men  on  an 
eligible  piece  of  ground,  he  sent  forward  two  of  the 
friendly  Indians  and  a  white  man,  who  had  for  many 
years  been  detained  a  captive  in  the  nation,  and  was  now 
acting  as  interpreter,  to  reconnoitre  the  position  of  the 
enemy.  About  eleven  o'clock  at  night  they  returned, 
with  information  that  the  savages  were  posted  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  fort,  and  appeared  to  be  in  great 
force ;  but  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  approach  near 
enough  to  ascertain  either  their  numbers  or  precise  situa 
tion.  About  an  hour  later,  a  runner  arrived  from  Turkey- 
town,  with  a  letter  from  General  White,  stating  that  after 
having  taken  up  the  line  of  march  to  unite  at  Fort  Strother, 
he  had  received  orders  from  General  Cocke  to  change  his 
course,  and  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  Chatauga  creek.  In 
telligence  so  disagreeable,  and  withal  so  unexpected,  filled 
the  mind  of  Jackson  with  apprehensions  of  a  serious  and 
alarming  character  ;  and  dreading  lest  the  enemy,  by  tak 
ing  a  different  route,  should  attack  his  encampment  in  his 
absence,  he  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  bringing  them  to 
battle.  Orders  were  accordingly  given  to  the  adjutant- 
general  to  prepare  the  line,  and  by  four  o'clock  on  th 
morning  of  the  9th,  the  army  was  again  in  motion.  Th 
infantry  proceeded  in  three  columns ;  the  cavalry  in  the 
same  order,  in  the  rear,  with  flankers  on  each  wing.  The 
advance,  consisting  of  a  company  of  artillerists  with  mus 
kets,  two  companies  of  riflemen,  and  one  of  spies,  marched 
about  four  hundred  yards  in  front,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Carroll,  inspector-general,  with  orders,  after  corn- 


BATTLE    OF    TALLADEGA.  71 

mencing  the  action,  to  fall  back  on  the  centre,  so  as  to 
draw  the  enemy  after  them.  At  seven  o'clock,  having 
arrived  within  a  mile  of  the  position  they  occupied,  the 
columns  were  displayed  in  order  of  battle.  Two  hundred 
and  fifty  of  the  cavalry,  under  Lieut.  Colonel  Dyer,  were 
placed  in  the  rear  of  the  centre,  as  a  corps-de-reserve.  The 
remainder  of  the  mounted  troops  were  directed  to  advance 
on  the  right  and  left,  and  after  encircling  the  enemy,  by 
uniting  the  fronts  of  their  columns,  and  keeping  their  rear 
rested  on  the  infantry,  to  face  and  press  towards  the  centre, 
so  as  to  leave  them  no  possibility  of  escape.  The  remain 
ing  part  of  the  army  was  ordered  to  move  up  by  heads  of 
companies  ;  General  Hall's  brigade  occupying  the  right, 
and  General  Roberts'  the  left. 

About  eight  o'clock,  the  advance  having  arrived  within 
eighty  yards  of  the  enemy,  who  were  concealed  in  a  thick 
shrubbery  that  covered  the  margin  of  a  small  rivulet,  re 
ceived  a  heavy  fire,  which  they  instantly  returned  with 
much  spirit.  Falling  in  with  the  enemy,  agreeably  to 
their  instructions,  they  retired  towards  the  centre,  but  not 
before  they  had  dislodged  them  from  their  position.  The 
Indians  rushed  forward,  screaming  and  yelling  hideously, 
in  the  direction  of  General  Roberts'  brigade,  a  few  com 
panies  of  which,  alarmed  by  their  numbers  and  yells,  gave 
way  at  the  first  fire.  To  fill  the  chasm  which  was  thus  cre 
ated,  Jackson  directed  the  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel 
Bradley  to  be  moved  up,  which,  from  some  unaccountable 
cause,  had  failed  to  advance  in  a  line  with  the  others,  and 
now  occupied  a  position  in  the  rear  of  the  centre.  Bradley, 
however,  to  whom  this  order  was  given  by  one  of  the  staff, 
omitted  to  execute  it  in  time,  alleging  that  he  was  de 
termined  to  remain  on  the  eminence  which  he  then  pos 
sessed,  until  he  should  be  approached  and  attacked  by  the 
enemy.  Owing  to  this  failure  in  the  volunteer  regiment, 
it  became  necessary  to  dismount  the  reserve,  which,  with 
great  firmness,  met  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  who  were 
rapidly  moving  in  this  direction.  The  retreating  militia, 
somewhat  mortified  at  seeing  their  places  so  promptly 
supplied,  rallied,  and  recovering  their  former  position  in 
the  line,  aided  in  checking  the  advance  of  the  savages 


72  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

The  action  now  became  general,  and  in  fifteen  minutes 
the  Indians  were  seen  flying-  in  every  direction.  On  the 
left  they  were  met  and  repulsed  by  the  mounted  riflemen ; 
but  on  the  right,  owing  to  the  halt  of  Bradley's  regiment, 
which  was  intended  to  occupy  the  extreme  right,  and  to 
the  circumstance  that  Colonel  Alcorn,  who  commanded 
one  of  the  wings  of  the  cavalry,  had  taken  too  large  a 
circuit,  a  considerable  space  was  left  between  the  infantry 
and  the  cavalry,  through  which  numbers  escaped.  The 
fight  was  maintained  with  great  spirit  and  effect  on  both 
sides,  as  well  before  as  after  the  retreat  commenced  ;  nor 
did  the  pursuit  and  slaughter  terminate  until  the  moun 
tains  were  reached,  at  the  distance  of  three  miles. 

Jackson,  in  his  report  of  this  action,  bestowed  high 
commendation  on  the  officers  and  soldiers.  "  Too  much 
praise,"  he  said,  at  the  close,  "  cannot  be  bestowed  on  the 
advance  led  by  Colonel  Carroll,  for  the  spirited  manner  in 
which  they  commenced  and  sustained  the  attack  ;  nor 
upon  the  reserve,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Colonel  Dyer,  for 
the  gallantry  with  which  they  met  and  repulsed  the  enemy. 
In  a  word,  officers  of  every  grade,  as  well  as  privates, 
realized  the  high  expectations  I  had  formed  of  them,  and 
merit  the  gratitude  of  their  country." 

In  this  battle,  the  force  of  the  enemy  was  one  thousand 
and  eighty,  of  whom  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  were 
left  dead  on  the  ground  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  many 
were  killed  in  the  flight,  who  were  not  found  when  the 
estimate  wras  made.  Probably  few  escaped  unhurt.  Their 
loss  on  this  occasion,  as  since  stated  by  themselves,  was 
not  less  than  six  hundred:  that  of  the  Americans  was 
fifteen  killed,  and  eighty  wounded,  several  of  whom  after 
wards  died.  Jackson,  after  collecting  his  dead  and  wounded, 
advanced  his  army  beyond  the  fort,  and  encamped  for  the 
night.  The  Indians  who  had  been  for  several  days  shut 
up  by  the  besiegers,  thus  fortunately  liberated  from  the 
most  dreadful  apprehensions  and  severest  privations,  hav 
ing  for  some  days  been  entirely  without  water,  received 
the  army  with  all  the  demonstrations  of  gratitude  that 
savages  could  give.  Their  manifestations  of  joy  for  their 
deliverance,  presented  an  interesting  and  affecting  spec- 


DESTITUTION    OF    THE    TROOPS.  73 

tacle.  Their  fears  had  been  already  greatly  excited,  for 
it  was  the  very  day  when  they  were  to  have  been  as 
saulted,  and  when  every  soul  within  the  fort  must  have 
perished.  All  the  provisions  they  could  spare  from  their 
scanty  stock  they  sold  to  the  general,  who  purchased  them 
with  his  own  money,  and  generously  distributed  them 
among  his  almost  destitute  soldiers. 

It  was  with  great  regret  that  Jackson  now  found  he  was 
without  the  means  of  availing  himself  fully  of  the  ad 
vantages  of  his  victory ;  but  the  condition  of  his  posts  in 
the  rear,  and  the  want  of  provisions,  (having  left  his  en 
campment  at  Fort  Strother  with  little  more  than  one  day's 
rations,)  compelled  him  to  return  ;  thus  giving  the  enemy 
time  to  recover  from  the  consternation  of  their  first  defeat, 
and  to  re-assemble  their  forces.  On  returning  to  Fort 
Strother,  he  found  that  through  the  wilful  mismanagement 
of  General  Cocke,  no  supplies  had  reached  that  post,  and 
the  soldiers  were  beginning  to  exhibit  symptoms  of  dis 
content.  Even  his  private  stores,  brought  on  at  his  own 
expense,  and  upon  which  he  and  his  staff  had  hitherto 
wholly  subsisted,  had  been  in  his  absence  distributed 
among  the  sick  by  the  hospital  surgeon,  who  had  been 
previously  instructed  to  do  so  if  their  wants  should  re 
quire  it.  A  few  dozen  biscuits,  which  remained  on  his 
return,  were  given  to  hungry  applicants,  without  being 
tasted  by  himself  or  family,  who  were  probably  not  less 
hungry  than  those  who  were  thus  relieved.  A  scanty 
supply  of  indifferent  beef,  taken  from  the  enemy  or  pur 
chased  of  the  Cherokees,  was  the  only  support  afforded. 
Left  thus  destitute,  Jackson,  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness 
ol  temper,  repaired  to  the  bullock  pen,  and  of  the  offal 
there  thrown  away,  provided  for  himself  and  staff  what 
he  was  pleased  to  call,  and  seemed  really  to  think,  a  very 
comfortable  repast.  Tripes,  however,  hastily  provided  in 
a  camp,  without  bread  or  seasoning,  can  only  be  palatable 
to  an  appetite  very  highly  whetted.  Yet  this  constituted 
for  several  days  the  only  diet  at  head  quarters,  during 
which  time  the  general  seemed  entirely  satisfied  with 
his  fare.  Neither  this,  nor  the  liberal  donations  which 
he  made  to  relieve  the  suffering  soldier,  deserve  to  be 
~  4 


74  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

ascribed  to  ostentation  or  design:  the  one  flowed  from  be 
nevolence,  the  other  from  necessity,  and  a  desire  to  place 
before  his  men  an  example  of  patience  and  suffering, 
which  he  felt  might  be  necessary,  and  hoped  might  be 
serviceable.  Chanty  in  him  was  a  warm  and  active  pro 
pensity  of  the  heart,  urging  him,  by  an  instantaneous  im 
pulse,  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  distressed,  without 
regarding,  or  even  thinking  of  the  consequences.  Many 
of  those  to  whom  aid  was  extended,  had  no  conception  of 
the  source  that  supplied  them,  and  believed  the  comforts 
they  received  were,  indeed,  drawn  from  stores  provided 
for  the  hospital  department. 

On  one  occasion,  during  these  difficulties,  a  soldier, 
with  a  wo-begone  countenance,  approached  the  general, 
•stating  that  he  was  nearly  starved,  that  he  had  nothing  to 
eat,  and  that  he  did  not  know  what  he  should  do.  He 
was  the  more  encouraged  to  complain,  from  perceiving  that 
the  general,  who  had  seated  himself  at  the  root  of  a  tree, 
was  busily  engaged  in  eating  something,  and  confidently 
expected  to  be  relieved.  Jackson  replied  to  him,  that  it 
had  always  been  a  rule  with  him,  never  to  turn  away  a 
hungry  man  when  it  was  in  his  power  to  relieve  him. 
"I  will  most  cheerfully,"  said  he,  "  divide  with  you  what 
1  have  ;"  and  putting  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  he  drew 
forth  a  few  acorns,  from  which  he  had  been  feasting,  at 
the  same  time  remarking,  in  addition,  that  this  was  the 
only  fare  he  had.  The  soldier  seemed  much  surprised, 
and  forthwith  circulated  the  intelligence  among  his  com 
rades,  that  their  general  was  feeding  on  acorns,  and  urged 
them  not  to  complain. 

But  while  General  Jackson  remained  wholly  unmoved  \jy 
his  own  privations,  he  was  filled  with  solicitude  and  concern 
for  his  army.  His  utmost  exertions,  unceasingly  applied 
were  insufficient  to  remove  the  sufferings  to  which  he  sav 
they  were  exposed  ;  and  although  they  were  by  no  means 
so  great  as  were  represented,  yet  were  they  undoubtedly 
such  as  to  be  sensibly  and  severely  felt.  Discontents,  and 
a  desire  to  return  home,  arose,  and  presently  spread  through 
the  camp ;  and  these  were  still  further  imbittered  and 
augmented  by  the  arts  of  a  few  designing  officers,  who, 


DISCONTENT   IN    THE    ARMY.  75 

believing  that  the  campaign  would  break  up,  hoped  to 
make  themselves  popular  on  their  return,  by  encouraging 
and  taking  part  in  the  complaints  of  the  soldiery.  It  is  a 
singular  fact,  that  those  officers  who  pretended  on  this 
occasion  to  feel  most  sensibly  for  the  wants  of  the  army, 
and  who  contrived  most  effectually  to  instigate  it  to  revolt, 
had  never  themselves  been  without  provisions ;  and  were, 

that  very  moment,  enjoying  in  abundance  what  would 
ave  relieved  the  distresses  of  many,  had  it  been  as  gene- 
.ously  and  freely  distributed  as  were  their  words  of  advice 
and  condolence. 

During  this  period  of  scarcity  and  discontent,  small 
quantities  of  supplies  were  occasionally  forwarded  by  the 
contractors,  but  not  a  sufficiency  for  present  want,  and  still 
less  to  remove  the  apprehensions  that  were  entertained  for 
the  future.  At  length,  revolt  began  to  show  itself  openly. 
The  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  militia,  collecting  in  their 
tents  and  talking  over  their  grievances,  determined  to  yield 
up  their  patriotism  and  to  abandon  the  camp.  Several  of 
the  officers  of  the  old  volunteer  corps  exerted  themselves 
clandestinely,  to  produce  disaffection.  Looking  upon  them 
selves  somewhat  in  the  light  of  veterans,  from  the  disci 
pline  they  had  acquired  in  the  expedition  to  Natchez,  they 
were  unwilling  to  be  seen  foremost  in  setting  an  example 
of  mutiny,  but  wished  to  make  the  defection  of  others  a 
pretext  for  their  own. 

It  was  almost  unreasonable  to  expect  men  to  be  patient, 
while  starvation  was  staring  them  in  the  face.  Overlook 
ing  the  fact  that  their  difficulties  were  mainly  occasioned 
by  the  malicious  feelings  of  a  single  officer,  they  began  to 
feel  that  they  were  neglected  by  their  country,  whose 
battles  they  had  fought,  and  resentment  and  discontent 
took  possession  of  their  bosoms.  Increasing  from  day  to 
day,  and  extending  from  individuals  to  companies,  and 
from  companies  to  regiments,  they  soon  threatened  an  en 
tire  dissolution  of  the  army.  The  volunteers,  though 
deeply  imbued  with  this  feeling,  were  at  first  restrained 
from  any  public  exhibition  of  it,  by  their  soldierly  pride  ; 
but  the  militia  regiments  determined  to  leave  the  camp, 
and  return  to  Tennessee.  Apprised  of  their  intention, 


76  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

General  Jackson  resolved  to  defeat  it ;  and  as  they  drew 
out  in  the  morning  to  commence  their  march,  they  found 
the  volunteers  drawn  up  across  their  path,  with  orders  to 
require  them,  under  penalty  of  instant  military  execution, 
to  return  to  their  position.  They  at  once  obeyed,  admir 
ing  the  firmness  which  baffled  their  design. 

In  this  operation  the  volunteers  had  been  unwilling  in 
struments  in  the  hands  of  their  general,  and,  chagrined  at 
their  own  success,  resolved  themselves  the  next  day  to 
abandon  the  camp  in  a  body.  What  was  their  surprise, 
on  making  a  movement  to  accomplish  that  object,  to  find 
the  very  militia  whose  mutiny  they  had  the  day  beforo 
repressed,  drawn  up  in  the  same  position  to  resist  them  ! 
So  determined  was  their  look,  that  the  volunteers  deemed 
it  prudent  to  carry  out  the  parallel,  and  returned  quietly 
to  their  quarters.  This  process,  by  which  nearly  a  whole 
army,  anxious  to  desert,  was  kept  in  service  by  arraying 
one  species  of  force  against  another,  though  effectual  for 
the  moment,  would  not  bear  repetition,  and  the  general 
was  sensible  how  feeble  was  the  thread  by  which  he  held 
them  together.  The  cavalry,  who  not  only  shared  in  the 
general  privation,  but  had  no  forage,  petitioned  for  per 
mission  to  retire  to  the  vicinity  of  Huntsville,  pledging 
themselves  to  return  when  called  on,  after  recruiting  their 
horses  and  receiving  their  winter  clothing.  Their  peti 
tion  was  granted,  and  they  immediately  left  the  camp. 

Having  received  letters  from  Colonel  Pope,  assuring 
him  that  abundant  supplies  were  on  the  way,  General 
Jackson  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  produce  good  feeling 
throughout  the  army,  in  order  that  they  might  be  able  to 
act  with  promptitude  when  an  opportunity  offered  for 
striking  a  decisive  blow.  He  accordingly  invited  the  field 
and  platoon  officers  to  his  quarters,  on  the  14th  of  Novem 
ber,  and  communicated  to  them  the  information  he  had 
received,  and  the  wishes  and  expectations  which  he  had 
based  upon  it.  "  To  be  sure,"  said  he,  "  we  do  not  live 
sumptuously ;  but  no  one  has  died  of  hunger,  or  is  likely 
to  die  ;  and  then  how  animating  are  our  prospects  !  Large 
supplies  are  at  Deposit,  and  already  are  officers  despatched 
to  hasten  them  on.  Wagons  are  on  the  way ;  a  large. 


MUTINY    OF    HIS   TROOPS.  7? 

number  of  beeves  are  in  the  neighborhood ;  and  detach 
ments  are  out  to  bring  them  in.  All  these  resources  sure 
ly  cannot  fail.  I  have  no  wish  to  starve  you — none  to 
deceive  you.  Stay  contentedly ;  and  if  supplies  do  not 
arrive  within  two  days,  we  will  all  march  back  together, 
and  throw  the  blame  of  our  failure  where  it  should  proper 
ly  lie  :  until  then  we  certainly  have  the  means  of  subsist 
ing  ;  and  if  we  are  compelled  to  bear  privations,  let  us 
remember  that  they  are  borne  for  our  country,  and  are  not 
greater  than  many — perhaps  most  armies  have  been  com 
pelled  to  endure.  I  have  called  you  together  to  tell  you 
my  feelings  and  my  wishes  ;  this  evening  think  on  them 
seriously,  and  let  me  know  yours  in  the  morning." 

After  addressing  them  in  such  kind  and  generous  terms, 
notwithstanding  many  of  them  had  secretly  encouraged 
the  disaffection,  how  great  must  have  been  his  grief  and 
mortification  in  the  morning,  when  he  received  from  the 
officers  of  the  volunteer  regiments  the  annunciation  that, 
in  their  opinion,  "Nothing  short  of  marching  the  army 
immediately  back  to  the  settlements,  could  prevent  those 
difficulties  and  that  disgrace  which  must  attend  a  forcible 
desertion  of  the  camp  by  his  soldiers." 

The  officers  of  the  militia,  however,  reported  their  will 
ingness  to  wait  a  few  days  longer  for  a  supply  of  pro 
visions,  and,  if  it  should  be  received,  to  proceed  with  the 
campaign ;  otherwise,  they  insisted  on  being  marched 
back  where  supplies  could  be  procured.  To  preserve  the 
volunteers  for  farther  service,  if  possible,  the  general  de 
termined  to  gratify  their  wishes,  and  ordered  General  Hall 
to  lead  them  back  to  Fort  Deposit,  there  to  obtain  relief 
for  themselves,  and  then  to  return  as  an  escort  to  the  pro 
visions.  But  the  second  regiment  of  volunteers  were 
ashamed  to  be  found  less  loyal  than  the  militia,  and  begged 
permission  to  remain  with  their  general,  and  the  first  re 
giment  marched  alone.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the 
emotions  of  General  Jackson,  when  he  saw  a  regiment  of 
brave  men,  whom  he  had  refused  to  abandon  at  Natchez 
even  at  the  command  of  his  government,  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  whose  well-earned  fame  he  would  have  hazarded 
his  life,  deserting  him  in  the  wilderness,  reckless  of  honor, 


78  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  patriotism,  of  gratitude,  and  humanity.  He  coula  not 
avoid  giving  expression  to  his  feelings  in  strong  and  de 
cided  terms.  "  I  was  prepared,"  he  said,  "  to  endure 
every  evil  but  disgrace  ;  and  this,  as  I  can  never  submit 
to  myself,  I  can  give  no  encouragement  to  in  others." 

On  the  16th  of  November,  General  Jackson  addressed 
a  letter  to  Colonel  Pope,  the  contractor,  in  which  he  said : 

"  My  men  are  all  starving.     More  than  half  of  ther 
left  me  yesterday  for  Fort  Deposit,  in  consequence  of  th 
scarcity,  and  the  whole  will  do  so  in  a  few  days  if  plenti 
ful  supplies  do  not  arrive.     Again  and  again  I  must  en 
treat  you  to  spare  neither  labor  nor  expense  to  furnish  me, 
and  furnish  me  without  delay.     We  have  already  struck 
the  blow  which  would,  if  followed  up,  put  an  end  to  Creek 
hostility.     I  cannot  express  the  torture   of  my  feelings 
when  I  reflect  that  a  campaign  so  auspiciously  begun, 
and  which  might  be  so  soon  and  so  gloriously  terminated, 
is  likely  to  be  rendered  abortive  for  the  want  of  supplies. 
For  God's  sake,  prevent  so  great  an  evil." 

In  his  address  to  the  officers  on  the  14th,  the  general 
had  told  them  that  in  case  supplies  did  not  reach  them 
within  two  days,  he  would  lead  the  army  back  where 
provisions  could  be  had.  Two  days  had  elapsed  after  the 
departure  of  the  volunteers,  and  no  supplies  had  come. 
The  declaration  had  been  made  in  the  confident  expecta 
tion  that  provisions,  then  known  to  be  on  the  way,  would 
reach  them  before  the  expiration  of  that  period ;  but  the 
general  felt  bound  to  comply  with  his  word.  He  imme 
diately  proceeded  to  make  arrangements  for  the  abandon 
ment  of  Fort  Strother  ;  but,  contemplating  the  new  cou 
rage  \vith  which  it  would  inspire  the  enemy,  the  calami 
ties  it  was  likely  to  bring  on  the  frontiers,  and  the  dis 
grace  upon  his  army,  if  not  on  himself,  he  exclaimed,  "If 
only  two  men  will  remain  with  me,  I  will  never  abandon 
this  post."  "  You  have  one,  general,"  promptly  replied 
Captain  Gordon,  of  the  spies  ;  "  let  us  look  if  we  cannot 
find  another."  The  captain  immediately  beat  up  for  vo 
lunteers,  and,  with  the  aid  of  some  of  the  general  staff, 
soon  raised  one  hundred  and  nine,  who  agreed  to  stand  by 
their  general  to  the  last  extremity. 


MUTINY    OF    HIS    TROOPS.  79 

Confident  that  supplies  were  at  hand,  the  general 
marched  with  the  militia,  announcing  that  they  would  be 
ordered  back  if  provisions  should  be  met  at  no  great  dis 
tance  from  the  fort.  Within  ten  or  twelve  miles  they  met 
a  drove  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  beeves.  They  halted, 
butchered,  and  ate ;  but  the  courage  inspired  by  satiety 
was  that  of  mutineers.  Upon  receiving  an  order  to  re- 
*urn,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  party  to  convey  the 
ick  and  wounded,  they  resolved  to  disobey  it.  One  com 
pany  resumed  its  march  homeward,  before  General  Jackson 
was  apprised  of  their  design.  Informed  of  this  move 
ment,  he  hastened  to  a  spot  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead, 
where  General  Coffee,  with  a  part  of  the  staff  and  a  few 
soldiers,  had  halted,  and  ordered  them  instantly  to  form 
across  the  road,  and  fire  on  the  mutineers  if  they  should 
attempt  to  pass.  Rather  than  encounter  the  bold  faces 
before  them,  the  mutinous  company  thought  it  expedient 
to  return  to  the  main  body,  and  it  was  hoped  that  no  far 
ther  opposition  would  be  exhibited. 

Going  alone  for  the  purpose  of  mixing  among  his  men, 
and  appeasing  them  by  argument  and  remonstrance,  the 
general  found  a  spirit  of  mutiny  pervading  the  whole 
brigade.  They  had  formed,  and  were  on  the  point  of 
moving  off,  knowing  that  no  force  was  at  hand  powerful 
enough  to  resist  them ;  but  they  had  to  deal  with  a  man 
who  was  a  host  in  himself.  He  seized  a  musket,  threw 
it  across  his  horse's  neck,  placed  himself  in  front  of  the 
brigade  drawn  up  in  column,  and  declared  he  would 
shoot  the  first  man  who  took  a  step  in  advance.  Struck 
with  awe,  the  men  gazed  at  him  in  sullen  silence.  In 
this  position,  General  Coffee  and  some  of  the  members  of 
his  staff  rode  up,  and  placed  themselves  at  his  side.  The 
faithful  officers  and  soldiers,  amounting  to  about  two  com- 
mnies,  formed  in  his  rear,  under  orders  to  fire  when  he 
did.  For  some  minutes  not  a  word  was  uttered.  A  mur 
mur  then  arose  among  the  mutineers,  and  at  length  they 
signified  their  willingness  to  return.  The  matter  was 
amicably  arranged,  and  the  troops  marched  back  to  Fort 
Strother,  though  not  in  the  best  spirits. 

This  incident  derives  additional  interest  from  the  fact, 


80  LIFE   OF    JACKSON. 

that  the  general's  left  arm  was  not  so  far  healed  as  to 
enable  him  to  aim  a  musket,  and  the  weapon  he  had  was 
too  much  out  of  order  to  be  fired. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Talladega,  the  Hillabee  tribes, 
who  had  been  the  principal  sufferers  on  that  occasion,  ap 
plied  to  General  Jackson  for  peace  ;  declaring  their  will 
ingness  to  receive  it  on  such  terms  as  he  might  be  pleased 
to  dictate.  He  promptly  replied,  that  his  government  had 
taken  up  arms  to  bring  to  a  proper  sense  of  duty  a  people 
to  whom  she  had  ever  shown  the  utmost  kindness,  but 
who,  nevertheless,  had  committed  against  her  citizens  the 
most  unprovoked  depredations ;  and  that  she  would  lay 
them  down  only  when  certain  that  this  object  was  at 
tained.  "  Upon  those,"  continued  he,  "  who  are  friendly, 
I  neither  wish  nor  intend  to  make  war ;  but  they  must 
afford  evidences  of  the  sincerity  of  their  professions  ;  the 
prisoners  and  property  they  have  taken  from  us  and  the 
friendly  Creeks,  must  be  restored ;  the  instigators  of  the 
war,  and  the  murderers  of  our  citizens,  must  be  sur 
rendered  ;  the  latter  must  and  will  be  made  to  feel  the 
force  of  our  resentment.  Long  shall  they  remember  Fort 
Mirnms,  in  bitterness  and  tears." 

Haying  communicated  to  General  Cocke,  whose  divi 
sion  was  acting  in  this  section  of  the  nation,  the  proposi 
tions  that  had  been  made  by  the  Hillabee  tribes,  with  the 
answer  returned,  and  urged  him  to  detach  to  Fort  Strother 
six  hundred  of  his  men  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  that  place 
during  his  absence,  and  in  the  operations  he  intended  to 
resume  on  his  return,  Jackson  proceeded  to  Deposit  and 
Ditto's  landing,  where  the  most  effectual  means  in  his 
power  were  taken  for  obtaining  regular  supplies  in  future. 
The  contractors  were  required  to  furnish  immediately 
thirty  days'  rations  at  Fort  Strother,  forty  at  Tailadega, 
and  as  many  at  the  junction  of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa 
two  hundred  packhorses  and  forty  wagons  were  also  put 
in  requisition  to  facilitate  their  transportation.  Understand 
ing  now  that  the  whole  detachment  from  Tennessee  had 
been  received  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  he 
persuaded  himself  that  the  difficulties  previously  en 
countered  would  not  again  recur,  and  looked  forward, 


EFFORTS   TO    RAISE    ADDITIONAL   TROOPS.  81 

with  sanguine  expectations,  to  the  speedy  accomplish 
ment  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition.  But  the  satisfac 
tion  he  felt,  and  the  hopes  he  began  to  cherish,  were  of 
short  continuance. 

The  volunteers  who  had  formerly  been  enrolled  in  the 
expedition  to  Natchez,  began  to  look  anxiously  for  the 
10th  of  December,  at  which  time  they  supposed  their 
enlistments  would  expire.  Anticipating  difficulty  from 
this  cause,  General  Jackson  was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
fill  up  the  deficiencies  in  his  ranks.  General  Roberts  was 
accordingly  ordered  to  return  and  complete  his  brigade, 
and  Colonel  Carroll  and  Major  Searcy  were  despatched 
to  Tennessee,  to  raise  volunteers  for  six  months,  or  during 
the  campaign.  At  the  same  time,  the  general  wrote  to 
several  patriotic  citizens  of  that  state,  urging  them  to  con 
tribute  their  aid  and  assistance.  In  one  of  his  letters,  he 
expressed  himself  in  the  following  touching  language, 
which  shows  how  deeply  his  heart  was  enlisted  in  the 
enterprise  he  had  undertaken  to  accomplish  : 

"  I  left  Tennessee  with  an  army,  brave,  I  believe,  as 
any  general  ever  commanded.  I  have  seen  them  in  bat 
tle,  and  my  opinion  of  their  bravery  is  not  changed.  But 
their  fortitude — on  this  too  I  relied — has  been  too  severely 
tested.  Perhaps  I  was  wrong  in  believing  that  nothing 
but  death  could  conquer  the  spirits  of  brave  men.  I  am 
sure  I  was ;  for  my  men  I  know  are  brave,  yet  privations 
have  rendered  them  discontented — that  is  enough.  The 
expedition  must  nevertheless  be  prosecuted  to-a  success 
ful  termination.  New  volunteers  must  be  raised  to  con 
clude  what  has  been  so  auspiciously  begun  by  the  old 
ones.  Gladly  would  I  save  these  men  from  themselves, 
and  insure  them  a  harvest  which  they  have  sown  ;  but 
if  they  will  abandon  it  to  others,  it  must  be  so.  *  *  * 
*  So  far  as  my  exertions  can  contribute,  the  pur 
poses  both  of  the  savage  and  his  instigator  shall  be  de 
feated  ;  and  so  far  as  yours  can,  I  hope — I  know  they 
will  be  employed.  I  have  said  enough — I  want  men,  and 
want  them  immediately." 

Anxious  to  prosecute  the  campaign  as  soon  as  possible, 
v>hat  by  employing  his  troops  actively  he  might  dispel 
4* 


82  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

from  their  minds  that  discontent  so  frequently  manifested, 
Jackson  wrote  to  General  Cocke,  early  in  December, 
earnestly  desiring  him  to  hasten  to  the  Ten  Islands, 
with  fifteen  hundred  men.  He  assured  him  that  the 
mounted  men,  who  had  returned  to  the  settlements  for 
subsistence,  and  to  recruit  their  horses,  would  arrive  by 
the  12th  of  the  month.  He  wished  to  commence  his 
operations  directly,  "  knowing  they  would  be  prepared 
for  it,  and  well  knowing  they  would  require  it.  1  am 
astonished,"  he  continued,  "to  hear  that  your  supplies 
continue  deficient.  In  the  name  of  God,  what  are  the 
contractors  doing,  and  about  what  are  they  engaged  ? 
Every  letter  I  receive  from  Governor  Blount,  assures  me 
I  am  to  receive  plentiful  supplies  from  them,  and  seems 
to  take  for  granted,  notwithstanding  all  I  have  said  to  the 
contrary,  that  they  have  been  hitherto  regularly  furnished. 
Considering  the  generous  loan  the  state  has  made  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  facility  of  procuring  bread-stuffs  in  East 
Tennessee,  and  the  transporting  them  by  water  to  Fort 
Deposit,  it  is  to  me  wholly  unaccountable  that  not  a  pound 
has  ever  arrived  at  that  place.  This  evil  must  continue 
no  longer — it  must  be  remedied.  I  expect,  therefore,  and 
through  you  must  require,  that  in  twenty  days  they  fur 
nish  at  Deposit  every  necessary  supply." 

While  these  preparations  for  the  vigorous  prosecution 
6f  hostilities  were  being  made,  the  volunteers  were  con 
gratulating  themselves  upon  their  anticipated  discharge 
from  the  service.  They  had  originally  enlisted  on  the 
10th  of  December,  1812,  to  serve  for  twelve  months.  A 
portion  of  this  time,  however,  after  their  return  from 
Natchez,  they  had  not  been  actually  engaged  in  service. 
This  fact  was  entirely  overlooked  in  their  calculations, 
and  they  commenced  pressing  their  officers  on  the  subject 
of  their  discharge. 

General  Jackson  received  a  letter  from  the  colonel  who 
commanded  the  second  regiment,  dated  the  4th  of  De 
cember,  1813,  in  which  was  attempted  to  be  detailed  their 
whole  ground  of  complaint.  He  began  by  stating,  that, 
painful  as  it  was,  he  nevertheless  felt  himself  bound  to 
disclose  an  important  and  unpleasant  truth :  that,  on  the 


DIFFICULTY  WITH    THE  VOLUNTEERS.  83 

10th  instant,  the  service  would  be  deprived  of  the  regi 
ment  he  commanded.  He  seemed  to  deplore,  with  great 
sensibility,  the  scene  that  would  be  exhibited  on  that  day, 
should  opposition  be  made  to  their  departure ;  and  still 
more  sensibly,  the  consequences  that  would  result  from  a 
disorderly  abandonment  of  the  camp.  He  stated  that  they 
had  all  considered  themselves  finally  discharged,  on  the 
20th  of  April,  1813,  and  never  knew  t©  the  contrary,  until 
hey  saw  his  order  of  the  24th  of  September,  1813, 
requiring  them  to  rendezvous  on  the  4th  of  October. 
"  Thus  situated,"  proceeded  the  colonel,  "  there  was  con 
siderable  opposition  to  the  order ;  on  which  the  officers 
generally,  as  I  am  advised,  and  I  know  myself  in  par 
ticular,  gave  it  as  an  unequivocal  opinion,  that  their  term 
of  service  would  terminate  on  the  10th  of  December,  1813. 
They  therefore  look  to  their  general,  who  has  their  confi 
dence,  for  an  honorable  discharge  on  that  day  ;  and  that, 
in  every  respect,  he  will  see  that  justice  be  done  them. 
They  regret  that  their  particular  situations  and  circum 
stances  require  them  to  leave  their  general,  at  a  time  when 
their  services  are  important  to  the  common  cause. 

"It  would  be  desirable,"  he  continued,  "that  those 
men  who  have  served  writh  honor,  should  be  honorably 
discharged,  and  that  they  should  return  to  their  families 
and  friends  without  even  the  semblance  of  disgrace  ;  with 
their  general  they  leave  it  to  place  them  in  that  situation. 
They  have  received  him  as  an  affectionate  father,  while 
they  have  honored,  revered,  and -obeyed  him  ;  but  having 
devoted  a  considerable  portion  of  their  time  to  the  service 
of  their  country,  by  which  their  domestic  concerns  are 
greatly  deranged,  they  wish  to  return,  and  attend  to  their 
own  affairs." 

Although  this  communication  announced  the  determi 
nation  of  only  a  part  of  the  volunteer  brigade,  the  com 
mander  in  chief  had  abundant  evidence  that  the  defection 
was  but  too  general.  The  difficulty  which  he  had  here 
tofore  been  compelled  to  encounter,  from  the  discontent 
of  his  troops,  might  well  induce  him  to  regret  that  a  spirit 
of  insubordination  should  again  threaten  to  appear  in  his 
camp.  That  he  might  prevent  it,  if  possible,  he  hastened- 


84  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

to  lay  before  them  the  error  and  impropriety  of  their  views, 
and  the  consequences  involved,  should  they  persist  in  their 
purpose. 

To  the  foregoing  letter  he  returned  a  reply  which,  for  un 
shrinking  firmness  of  resolution,  and  patriotic  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  his  country,  was  never  surpassed.  He 
declared  his  determination  to  prevent  their  return,  at  the 
hazard  of  his  life,  and  called  upon  God  to  witness,  that  the 
scenes  of  blood  which  might  be  exhibited  on  the  10th  of 
December  should  not  be  laid  to  his  charge.  He  reminded 
the  volunteers  that  they  had  been  enlisted  for  twelve 
months'  actual  service  ;  that  but  a  portion  of  that  time  had 
expired  ;  and  that  at  the  time  of  their  dismissal,  after  their 
return  from  Natchez,  a  certificate  was  given  to  each  man, 
setting  forth  the  number  of  months  he  had  served,  and 
they  were  expressly  told  that  they  were  liable  to  be  again 
called  out  to  complete  the  full  term.  He  also  stated  that 
he  was  ready  and  willing  to  discharge  them,  provided  he 
received  orders  to  that  effect  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  or  the  Governor  of  the  State,  but  otherwise, 
they  must  remain  with  him.  The  letter  concluded  with 
the  following  remarkable  words  :  "  I  cannot,  must  not  be 
lieve,  that  '  the  volunteers  of  Tennessee,'  a  name  ever 
dear  to  fame,  will  disgrace  themselves,  and  a  country 
which  they  have  honored,  by  abandoning  her  standard, 
as  mutineers  and  deserters  ;  but  should  I  be  disappointed, 
and  compelled  to  resign  this  pleasing  hope,  one  thing  I 
will  not  resign — my  duty*.  Mutiny  and  sedition,  so  long 
as  1  possess  the  power  of  quelling  them,  shall  be  put 
down ;  and  even  when  left  destitute  of  this.  I  will  still  be 
found,  in  the  last  extremity,  endeavoring  to  discharge  the 
duty  I  owe  my  country  and  myself." 

To  the  platoon  officers,  who  addressed  him  on  the  same 
subject,  he  replied  with  nearly  the  same  spirited  feeling; 
but  discontent  was  too  deeply  fastened,  and  had  been  too 
artfully  fomented,  to  be  removed  by  any  thing  like  argu 
ment  or  entreaty.  At  length,  on  the  evening  of  the 
9th  of  December,"  1818,  General  Hall  hastened  to  the  tent 
of  Jackson,  with  information  that  his  whole  brigade  was 
in  a  state  pf  mutiny,  and  making  preparations  to  movB 


SUPPRESSION    OF    THE    MUTINY.  85 

forcibly  off.  This  was  a  measure  which  every  considera 
tion  of  policy,  duty,  and  honor,  required  Jackson  to  op 
pose  ;  and  to  this  purpose  he  instantly  applied  all  the 
means  he  possessed.  He  immediately  issued  the  follow 
ing  general  order:  "The  commanding  general  being  in 
formed  that  an  actual  mutiny  exists  in  his  camp,  all  officers 
and  soldiers  are  commanded  to  put  it  down.  The  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  first  brigade  will,  without  delay,  parade 
on  the  west  side  of  the  fort,  and  await  further  orders." 
The  artillery  company,  with  two  small  field-pieces,  being 
posted  in  the  front  and  rear,  and  the  militia,  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Wynne,  on  the  eminences,  in  ad 
vance,  were  ordered  to  prevent  any  forcible  departure  of 
the  volunteers. 

The  general  rode  along  the  line,  which  had  been  pre 
viously  formed  agreeably  to  his  orders,  and  addressed  them, 
by  companies,  in  a  strain  of  impassioned  eloquence.  He 
feelingly  expatiated  on  their  former  good  conduct,  and  the 
esteem  and  applause  it  had  secured  them  ;  and  pointed  to 
the  disgrace  which  they  must  heap  upon  themselves,  their 
families,  and  country,  by  persisting,  even  if  they  could 
succeed,  in  their  present  mutiny.  He  told  them,  how 
ever,  that  they  should  not  succeed  but  by  passing  over 
his  body  ;  that  even  in  opposing  their  mutinous  spirit,  he 
should  perish  honorably — by  perishing  at  his  post,  and  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty.  "Reinforcements,"  he  con 
tinued,  "are  preparing  to  hasten  to  my  assistance;  it  can 
not  be  long  before  they  will  arrive.  I  am,  too,  in  daily 
expectation  of  receiving  information,  whether  you  may  be 
discharged  or  not — until  then  you  must  not,  and  shall  not, 
retire.  I  have  done  with  entreaty, — it  has  been  used  long 
enough.  I  will  attempt  it  no  more.  You  must  now  de 
termine  whether  you  will  go,  or  peaceably  remain ;  if  you 
still  persist  in  your  determination  to  move  forcibly  off,  the 
point  between  us  shall  soon  be  decided."  At  first  they 
hesitated  ;  he  demanded  an  explicit  and  positive  answer. 
They  still  hesitated,  and  he  commanded  the  artillerist  to 
prepare  the  match  ;  he.  himself  remaining  in  front  of  the 
volunteers,  and  within  the  line  of  fire,  which  he  intended 
soon  to  order.  Alarmed  at  his  apparent  determination, 


86  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

and  dreading  the  consequences  involved  in  such  a  con 
test,  "  Let  us  return,"  was  presently  lisped  along  the  line, 
and  soon  after  determined  upon.  The  officers  came  for 
ward  and  pledged  themselves  for  their  men,  who  either 
nodded  assent,  or  openly  expressed  a  willingness  to  retire 
to  their  quarters,  and  remain  without  further  tumult,  until 
information  was  received,  or  the  expected  aid  should 
arrive.  Thus  passed  away  a  moment  of  the  greatest 
peril,  and  pregnant  with  important  consequences. 

Notwithstanding  all  General  Jackson's  firmness,  the  want 
of  supplies  and  the  actual  necessities  of  his  army,  at  length 
compelled  him  reluctantly  to  allow  them  to  return  home, 
while  he  himself  remained,  with  about  one  hundred  faith 
ful  soldiers,  in  the  garrison  at  Fort  Strother,  thore  to  await 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements. 


ARRIVAL   OF    RECRUITS.  87 


CHAPTER  VI. 

814.  Arrival  of  recruits — Battle  of  Emuckfaw— Return  of  the  arrny 
— Ambuscade  of  the  enemy — Battle  of  Enotochopco — Bravery  of 
General  Carroll  and  Lieutenant  Armstrong — Return  to  Fort  Strother 
— The  army  reinforced — Battle  of  Tohopeka — Kindness  of  Jackson 
to  a  prisoner — Preparations  to  attack  Hoithlewalle — Address  to  the 
troops-— The  Indians  abandon  their  towns  at  Jackson's  approach — 
Termination  of  the  campaign — Operations  of  the  British  at  Pensa- 
cola — Conduct  of  the  Spanish  governor — Proclamation  of  Colonel 
Nicholls — Unsuccessful  attack  on  Fort  Bowyer — Jackson  marches 
to  Pensacola  and  demolishes  it.  1814. 

THE  difficulties  and  embarrassments  which  had  thus  far 
in  the  campaign  attended  the  operations  of  General  Jack 
son,  might  well  have  appalled  a  braver  spirit ;  but  his  was 
not  a  nature  to  sink  beneath  the  frowns  of  adverse  fortune. 
His  intrepidity  of  spirit,  and  resoluteness  of  purpose,  were 
never  more  signally  manifested,  than  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  return  of  the  volunteers  left  him  without  the 
means  to  pursue  the  advantages  he  had  already  gained. 
He  again  urged  the  governor  of  Tennessee  to  expedite 
the  enlistment  of  troops,  and  provide  means  for  furnishing 
supplies  at  such  points  as  they  might  be  needed.  About 
the  middle  of  January,  1814,  eight  hundred  new  recruits 
reached  his  camp  at  Fort  Strother.  Considering  it  utter 
ly  impracticable  to  penetrate  the  Creek  country  with  so 
meagre  a  force,  he  determined  to  make  a  diversion  in  fa 
vor  of  Major  Floyd,  who,  it  was  feared,  might  be  closely 
pressed  by  the  enemy,  in  consequence  of  his  failure  to  co 
operate  with  the  troops  from  Tennessee. 

Having  received  authentic  intelligence,  that  a  large  body 
of  the  "red-sticks,"  or  hostile  Indians,  were  collected  on 
the  Emuckfaw  creek,  in  a  bend  of  the  Tallapoosa  river, 
Jackson  directed  his  march  thither;  and  on  the  evening  of 
the  21st  of  January,  he  encamped  within  a  short  distance 


88  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  the  enemy.  A  friendly  Indian  spy,  who  had  recon 
noitred  the  enemy's  camp,  brought  in  word  that  the  In 
dians  were  removing  their  women  and  children — a  sure 
indication  that  they  meditated  an  attack.  Before  daylight, 
on  the  morning  of  the  22d,  a  brisk  firing  was  heard  upon 
the  right,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  action  became  gene 
ral.  The  enemy  were  soon  repulsed,  with  the  loss  of  many 
of  their  best  and  bravest  warriors ;  but  their  undoubted 
strength,  and  the  fact  that  they  were  constantly  receiving 
reinforcements,  determined  the  general  to  return  to  Fort 
Strother.  The  object  he  had  in  view  was  fortunately  ac 
complished,  as  it  was  afterwards  known  that  the  battle  of 
Emuckfaw  was,  in  all  probability,  the  means  of  saving 
Major  Floyd's  troops,  who  was  hotly  engaged  with  the 
enemy  on  the  27th,  and  would  have  been  destroyed  if  their 
force  had  not  been  so  seriously  diminished. 

General  Jackson  buried  the  dead  on  the  field  of  battle, 
and  on  the  23d  of  January  commenced  a  retrograde  march. 
During  the  night  of  the  23d  there  came  on  a  violent 
storm,  which  was  known  to  be  always  favorable  to  the 
Indian  mode  of  fighting,  and  as  his  troops  were  not  at 
tacked  on  the  night  of  the  22d,  or  while  on  their  march 
the  following  day,  he  rightly  conjectured  that  the  enemy 
were  lying  in  ambush  for  him  at  the  ford  of  Enotochopco, 
about  twelve  miles  from  Emuckfaw.  The  stream,  at  this 
point,  ran  through  a  narrow  defile ;  the  ford  was  deep ; 
and  the  banks  were  covered  with  underwood  and  reeds. 
The  eagle  eye  of  Jackson  had  discovered  the  natural  ad 
vantages  of  the  place  for  an  ambush,  on  his  previous  march 
to  "Emuckfaw,  and  he  resolved  to  cross  the  stream  at  a 
ford  six  hundred  yards  lower  down.  In  order  to  guard 
against  an  attack  from  the  enemy,  if  they  saw  fit  to  follow 
him  after  discovering  the  change  in  his  course,  he  formed 
his  rear  to  receive  them.  This  movement  was  wisely 
made.  Part  of  the  army  had  crossed  the  creek,  and  the 
artillery  were  on  the  point  of  entering  it,  when  an  alarm 
gun  was  heard  in  the  rear,  and  the  next  instant  the  whoop 
ing  and  yelling  of  the  savages  told  plainly  enough  that 
they  were  coming  on  in  fearful  numbers.  The  militia,  on 
the  right  and  left,  being  struck  with  a  sudden  panic,  in- 


BATTLE    OF   ENOTOCHOPCO.  89 

stantly  retreated  down  the  bank,  with  their  colonels  at  their 
head,  leaving  the  brave  General  Carroll,  and  about  twenty- 
five  men,  to  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  As  Colo 
nel  Stump  came  plunging  towards  the  creek  where  Ge 
neral  Jackson  was  superintending  the  crossing  of  the 
troops,  the  latter  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  draw 
his  sword  and  cut  him  down.  He  was  afterwards  tried 
by  a  court-martial,  on  a  charge  of  cowardice,  and  cashiered. 

In  the  mean  time,  Lieutenant  Armstrong  ordered  his 
company  of  artillery  to  form  on  the  hill,  and  with  the  as 
sistance  of  one  or  two  others,  he  drew  up  the  cannon,  a 
six-pounder,  and  pointed  it  towards  the  enemy.  The 
ramrod  and  picker  had  been  lost,  but  Jackson  supplied 
the  deficiency  by  using  muskets  and  their  ramrods  to  load 
the  piece.  It  was  fired  twice,  and  did  fearful  execution. 
The  Indians  began  to  waver,  and  when  the  general  had 
succeeded  in  rallying  a  number  of  the  fugitives,  and  formed 
them  for  a  charge,  they  fled  with  precipitation,  throwing 
away  their  packs,  and  leaving  twenty-six  of  their  war 
riors  dead  on  the  field. 

After  this  repulse,  the  army  resumed  their  march,  and 
reached  Fort  Strother  in  safety,  on  the  27th  of  January, 
where  they  were  dismissed  by  their  general,  until  he  re 
ceived  further  orders  from  government,  which  he  desired 
to  provide  him  with  a  competent  force  to  enter  the  Creek 
country,  and  put  a  termination  to  the  war.  Through  the 
patriotic  exertions  of  Governor  Blount,  General  Jackson 
was  again  at  the  head  of  a  fine  army,  early  in  March,  and 
ready  to  recommence  the  campaign.  His  force  at  this  time 
consisted  of  four  thousand  Tennessee  militia  and  volunteers, 
and  a  regiment  of  United  States  regulars.  In  the  month 
of  February,  he  had  received  information  that  the  hostile 
Indians,  about  one  thousand  in  number,  were  fortifying 
themselves  in  a  bend  of  the  Tallapoosa  river,  fifty  miles 
from  Emuckfaw,  where  they  had  determined  to  make  a 
last  stand.  The  country  between  theCoosaand  Tallapoo 
sa  rivers,  known  to  the  whites  as  the  "Hickory  Ground," 
had  always  been  held  sacred  by  the  Indians,  and  they 
were  taught,  by  their  prophets,  to  believe  that  no  white 
nan  could  ever  enter  this  territory  to  conquer  it.  Gene- 


90  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

ral  Jackson  saw  at  once  that  the  conquest  of  this  tract  of 
ground  would  compel  them  to  sue  for  peace,  and  he  de 
termined  on  forcing  them  to  a  general  engagement.  He 
accordingly  marched  his  army  down  the  Coosa,  and,  hav 
ing  established  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  Cedar  Creek,  called 
Fort  Williams,  he  crossed  over  to  the  Tallapoosa.  He 
was  three  days  in  crossing  the  Hickory  Ground,  as  the 
road  had  to  be  cut  from  one  river  to  the  other.  On  the 
morning  of  the  27th  of  March,  he  arrived  near  Tohopeka 
with  a  force  of  over  two  thousand  men. 

The  bend  of  the  river  in  which  the  enemy  were  fortified, 
as  its  name  imports,  resembles  a  horse-shoe  in  shape. 
Across  the  neck  of  land  by  which  the  peninsula  was 
entered  from  the  north,  the  Indians  had  thrown  up  a  rude 
breastwork  of  logs,  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  but  so  con 
structed  that  assailants  w.ould  be  exposed  to  a  double  and 
cross-fire.  About  a  hundred  acres  lay  within  the  bend, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  it  there  was  an  Indian  village,  around 
which  were  a  great  number  of  canoes  fastened  to  the  bank 
of  the  river.  After  reconnoitering  the  position,  General 
Jackson  detached  General  Coffee  to  surround  the  bend 
opposite  to  where  the  canoes  were  secured,  while  he  him 
self  advanced  to  assault  the  breastwork.  As  soon  as  Ge 
neral  Coffee  had  reported,  by  signals,  the  fulfilment  of  the 
order,  the  two  pieces  of  artillery,  a  six  and  three  pounder, 
began  to  play  upon  the  breastwork.  The  firing  had  con 
tinued  for  about  two  hours,  when  some  of  the  friendly 
Cherokees  who  were  with  General  Coffee,  swam  the  river, 
and  brought  over  the  canoes.  A  number  of  Coffee's 
troops  immediately  crossed  over,  set  fire  to  the  village, 
and  attacked  the  Indians  in  the  rear.  On  discovering 
this  movement,  General  Jackson  ordered  a  push  to  be  made 
at  the  breastwork,  and  carried  it  by  storm.  The  battle 
now  commenced  in  earnest,  and  a  most  bloody  and  despe 
rate  hand  to  hand  conflict  ensued,  in  which  the  Indians 
were  finally  overpowered,  and  compelled  to  give  way.  A 
number  of  them  attempted  to  escape  across  the  river,  but 
were  shot  by  the  spies  and  mounted  men  under  General 
Coffee.  Some  took  refuge  among  the  brush  and  fallen 
timber  on  the  cliffs  overhanging  the  river,  from  which 


KINDNESS   TO    AN    INDIAN    PRISONER.  91 

thej  fired  upon  the  victors.  Jackson  was  desirous  to  pre 
vent  the  further  loss  of  life,  and  sent  an  interpreter  within 
call  to  offer  them  terms,  but  he  was  also  fired  upon  and 
severely  wounded.  The  cannon  were  then  brought  to 
bear  on  the  place  of  their  concealment,  yet  they  still  re 
fused  to  surrender.  After  losing  several  men  in  an  in 
effectual  charge,  the  general,  as  a  last  resort,  commanded 
the  brush  and  timber  to  be  fined,  and  such  of  them  as  were 
driven  from  their  hiding-places  were  shot  as  they  ran. 
Night  at  length  put  an  end  to  the  battle,  and  a  few  of  the 
miserable  survivors  escaped  in  the  darkness.  Five  hun 
dred  and  fifty-seven  of  their  number  were  found  dead  on 
the  field,  and  three  hundred  women  and  children  were 
taken  prisoners.  The  American  loss  was  fifty-five  killed 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-six  wounded  ;  nearly  one-third 
of  which  fell  upon  the  friendly  Creeks  and  Cherokees. 
Among  the  Indians  slain  were  three  of  their  prophets, 
who  had  been  the  most  active  in  exciting  them  to  war. 
dp  to  the  last  moment,  they  maintained  their  influence 
over  their  deluded  countrymen,  and  continued  their  wild 
and  unseemly  dances  amid  the  thunder  of  battle.  One 
of  them  was  struck  dead,  with  a  grape  shot,  in  the  midst 
of  his  incantations. 

An  incident  occurred  after  the  battle  highly  character 
istic  of  the  American  general.  A  young  Indian  was 
brought  before  him  who  had  received  a  severe  wound  in 
the  leg.  A  surgeon  was  sent  for  to  dress  it,  and  the 
savage  quietly  submitted  to  the  operation  ;  but  while  it 
was  going  on,  he  looked  inquiringly  at  the  general,  and 
said,  "  Cure  'im,  kill  'im  again  ?"  Jackson  assured  him, 
in  a  friendly  manner,  that  ne  need  not  apprehend  any 
further  injury,  and  he  soon  recovered.  The  general  was 
struck  with  his  manly  bearing,  and  having  ascertained 
that  all  his  relations  had  perished  in  the  battle,  he  sent 
him  to  his  own  house  in  Tennessee.  After  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  war,  he  bound  him  out  to  a  trade  in  Nashville, 
where  he  married,  and  established  himself  in  business. 

As  his  men  had  taken  but  seven  days'  rations  with  them 
when  they  left  Fort  Williams,  Jackson  was  compelled  to 
return  to  that  post.  Before  doing  so,  he  took  the  precau- 


92  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

tion  to  sink  the  dead  bodies  of  his  soldiers  in  the  river, 
that  they  might  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  savages  who 
had  disinterred  those  buried  at  Emuckfaw  and  Enoto- 
chopco,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  their  scalps. 

The  original  plan  of  the  expedition  against  the  Creek 
nation,  formed  by  General  Pinckney,  the  commander  in 
chief,  contemplated  the  junction  of  the  different  divisions 
sent  from  Georgia,  Tennessee,  and  Mississippi,  at  the  bend 
of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa ;  but  the  failure  to  furnish 
provisions  to  the  Tennessee  troops,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
campaign,  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  this  design. 
General  Jackson,  however,  after  his  return  to  Tohopeka, 
resolved  upon  the  complete  conquest  of  the  Hickory 
Ground.  He  immediately  made  preparations  to  attack 
Hoithlewalle,  an  Indian  town  in  this  territory,  where  a 
large  body  of  the  enemy  were  said  to  be  concentrated. 
On  the  7th  of  April,  just  five  days  after  his  return  from 
Tohopeka,  he  commenced  his  march.  Each  of  his  men 
carried  eight  days'  provisions  on  his  back.  This  supply 
was  thought  to  be  abundantly  sufficient,  as  he  expected 
soon  to  meet  the  eastern  army  under  Colonel  Milton,  who 
had  orders  from  General  Pinckney  to  furnish  him  with 
supplies.  Most  of  the  friendly  Indians  were  dismissed, 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  provisions.  Before 
setting  out,  Jackson  issued  an  animated  address  to  his 
troops,  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Soldiers, — You  have  entitled  yourselves  to  the  grati 
tude  of  your  country  and  your  general.  The  expedition 
from  which  you  have  returned,  has,  by  your  good  conduct, 
been  rendered  prosperous  beyond  any  example  in  the 
history  of  our  warfare  ;  it  has  redeemed  the  character  of 
your  state,  and  of  that  description  of  troops  of  which  the 
greater  part  of  you  are. 

44  The  fiends  of  the  Tallapoosa  will  no  longer  murder 
our  women  and  children,  or  disturb  the  quiet  of  .our 
borders.  Their  midnight  flambeaux  will  no  more  illu 
mine  their  council-house,  or  shine  upon  the  victims  of 
their  infernal  orgies.  In  their  places  a  new  generation 
will  arise,  who  will  know  their  duty  better.  The  weapons 
of  warfare  will  be  exchanged  for  the  utensils  of  husbandry ; 


TERMINATION    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN.  93 

and  the  wilderness,  which  now  withers  in  sterility,  and 
mourns  the  desolation  which  overspreads  her,  will  blossom 
as  the  rose,  and  become  the  nursery  of  the  arts.  But, 
before  this  happy  day  can  arrive,  other  chastisements  re 
main  to  be  inflicted.  It.  is  indeed  lamentable,  that  the 
path  to  peace  should  lead  through  blood,  and  over  the 
bodies  of  the  slain  ;  but  it  is  a  dispensation  of  Providence, 
and  perhaps  a  wise  one,  to  inflict  partial  evils  that  ulti 
mate  good  may  follow." 

It  was  Jackson's  intention  to  reach  Hoithlewalle  on  the 
llth  of  April;  but  the  roads  had  been  rendered  almost 
impassable  by  the  heavy  rains,  and  he  found  himself  un 
able  to  do  so.  When  within  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  the 
town,  he  ascertained  that  the  inhabitants  had  deserted  it. 
He  then  directed  his  march  for  Fooshatchie,  three  miles 
lower  down  the  river,  where  he  took  several  prisoners. 
The  Indians  generally,  on  his  approach,  fled  across  the  Tal- 
lapoosa.  He  had  anticipated  this,  and  his  orders  to  Colonel 
Milton,  to  co-operate  with  him  from  the  east,  were  intend 
ed  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  enemy  in  that  direction. 
That  officer,  however,  not  only  disregarded  the  orders  he 
had  received,  but  suffered  the  Indians  to  pass  him  un 
molested,  when  he  was  preparing  to  cross  the  river  and 
attack  them.  The  rapid  rising  of  the  Tallapoosa,  and  the 
want  of  provisions,  compelled  Jackson  temporarily  to  de 
sist  from  the  pursuit.  Soon  after,  he  made  application  to 
Colonel  Milton,  who  was  advancing  to  attack  Hoithlewalle, 
which  he  had  already  destroyed,  for  provisions  to  supply 
his  troops.  The  colonel  replied  that  he  did  not  feel  him 
self  under  obligation  to  furnish  any  to  the  Tennessee 
troops,  but  he  would  lend  them  some  if  it  were  absolutely 
necessary.  Jackson  instantly  sent  him  a  peremptory 
order,  by  Captain  Gordon  of  the  spies,  requiring  him  to 
furnish  the  provisions  which  he  had  previously  requested, 
and  to  form  a  junction  with  him  the  next  day.  On  read 
ing  the  order,  Colonel  Milton  inquired  of  Captain  Gordon, 
what  sort  of  a  man  General  Jackson  was.  "  He  is  a  man," 
•eplied  the  captain,  "  who  intends  when  he  gives  an  order 
ihat  it  shall  be  obeyed !"  Colonel  Milton  then  said  he 
vould  furnish  provisions,  not  because  they  were  ordered, 


94  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

but  because  the  men  were  suffering  for  want  of  them ; 
nevertheless  he  afterwards  obeyed  the  order  in  full,  ana 
joined  the  army  under  Jackson  with  his  force. 

In»  order  to  intercept  the  Indians  who  had  fled  across 
the  river,  Jackson  detached  a  body  of  mounted  men  to 
scour  the  left  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa,  while  he  himself, 
with  the  main  army,  prepared  to  march  down  the  Coosa 
as  far  as  their  junction.  Just  as  the  army  was  about  to 
commence  its  march,  word  was  brought  to  the  general 
that  Colonel  Milton's  brigade  could  not  move,  as  the 
wagon-horses  had  strayed  away  in  the  night  and  could 
not  be  found.  Jackson  sent  back  word  that  he  had  dis 
covered  an  effectual  remedy  in  such  cases,  which  was  to 
detail  twenty  men  to  each  wagon.  Milton  took  the  hint, 
and  having  dismounted  a  few  of  his  dragoons,  attached 
their  horses  to  the  wagons,  and  soon  put  his  brigade  in 
motion. 

The  army  did  not  encounter  the  least  opposition  on 
their  march,  and  it  was  now  evident  that  the  battle  of 
Tohopeka  had  ended  the  Creek  war.  No  effort  was  made 
by  the  surviving  warriors  to  rally,  after  that  fatal  day,  and 
as  General  Jackson  advanced,  they  either  fled  before  him, 
or  came  in  and  offered  submission.  In  a  few  months 
peace  and  quiet  were  restored ;  whereupon  the  Tennes 
see  soldiers  returned  home,  and  were  honorably  dis 
charged. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  General  Harrison,  in  the  spring 
of  1814,  Jackson  was  appointed  a  major-general  in  the 
army  of  the  United  States.  The  protection  of  the  coast 
near  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi  was  intrusted  to  him; 
and  his  first  attention  was  turned  to  the  encouragement 
and  protection  which  the  savages  received,  from  the  Spa 
nish  governor  and  Spanish  authorities  in  the  fortress  of 
Pensacola,  which  is  situated  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  at  about 
a  hundred  miles'  distance  from  the  main  fastness  of  the 
Creek  Indians.  His  opinion  was,  that  the  savages  were 
constantly  receiving  assistance  from  the  Spanish  garrison, 
and  from  the  British,  through  the  means  of  the  garrison ; 
and  he  was  persuaded  that  the  latter  would  finally  attack 
New  Orleans  after  having  prepared  themselves  at  Pensa- 


ATTACK    ON    PENSACOLA.  95 

cola.  On  his  way  to  the  south,  he  learned  that  about 
three  hundred  British  troops  had  landed,  and  were  fortify 
ing  themselves  at  no  great  distance  from  that  post.  In 
this  state  of  things,  he  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  the 
Spanish  governor  to  desist  from  all  acts  injurious  to  the 
United  States.  That  officer  at  first  prevaricated,  but  af 
terwards  boldly  falsified  the  truth.  The  news  had  already 
been  received,  of  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  and  his  banishment 
to  Elba;  and  this  event  inspired  new  villany,  and  new 
courage,  everywhere,  inasmuch  as  it  greatly  increased 
the  ability  of  Great  Britain  to  prosecute  her  hostile  opera 
tions  against  the  United  States.  The  Spanish  garrison  at 
Pensacola  was,  in  fact,  a  rendezvous  for  the  British,  and 
their  Indian  allies.  Captain  Gordon  was  sent  by  General 
Jackson,  in  the  month  of  August,  1814,  to  reconnoitre  the 
post,  and,  on  his  return,  he  reported  that  he  had  seen  from 
fifty  to  two  hundred  officers  and  soldiers,  a  park  of  artille 
ry,  and  about  five  hundred  savages  drilling  under  British 
officers,  and  dressed  in  British  uniform.  These  facts  were 
duly  communicated  to  the  government,  and  an  order  was 
issued  on  the  18th  of  July,  by  General  Armstrong,  then 
secretary  of  war,  authorizing  General  Jackson  to  attack 
Pensacola.  By  some  strange  and  unaccountable  delay, 
the  letter  containing  this  order  did  not  reach  him  until  the 
17th  of  January,  1815. 

General  Jackson  regarded  the  operations  of  the  British 
at  Pensacola,  with  considerable  anxiety  ;  and  on  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  following  proclamation,  addressed  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  southern  and  western  states,  and  dated 
at  Pensacola,  the  "head-quarters"  of  the  officer  whose  name 
was  attached,  he  decided  to  act  on  his  own  responsibility : 

"  Natives  of  Louisiana !  on  you  the  first  call  is  made, 
to  assist  in  liberating  from  a  faithless,  imbecile  govern 
ment,  your  paternal  soil :  Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  Italians, 
and  British,  whether  settled,  or  residing  for  a  time,  in 
Louisiana,  on  you,  also,  I  call  to  aid  me  in  this  just  cause. 
The  American  usurpation  in  this  country  must  be  abolished, 
and  the  lawful  owners  of  the  soil  put  in  possession.  I  am 
at  the  head  of  a  large  body  of  Indians,  well  armed,  disci 
plined,  and  commanded  by  British  officers — a  good  train 


96  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  artillery,  with  every  requisite,  seconded  by  the  power 
ful  aid  of  a  numerous  British  and  Spanish  squadron  of 
ships  and  vessels  of  war.  Be  not  alarmed,  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  at  our  approach ;  the  same  good  faith  and 
disinterestedness,  which  have  distinguished  the  conduct 
of  Britons  in  Europe,  accompany  them  here ;  you  will 
have  no  fear  of  litigious  taxes  imposed  on  you  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  an  unnatural  and  unjust  war; 
your  property,  your  laws,  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of 
your  country,  will  be  guarantied  to  you  by  men  who  will 
suffer  no  infringement  of  theirs ;  rest  assured  that  these 
brave  red  men  only  burn  with  an  ardent  desire  of  satis 
faction  for  the  wrongs  they  have  suffered  from  the  Ame 
ricans,  and  to  join  you  in  liberating  these  southern  provinces 
from  their  yoke,  a"nd  drive  them  into  those  limits  formerly 
prescribed  by  my  sovereign.  The  Indians  have  pledged 
themselves  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  not  to  injure,  in 
the  slightest  degree,  the  persons  or  property  of  any  but 
enemies.  A  flag  over  any  door,  whether  Spanish,  French, 
or  British,  will  be  a  certain  protection  ;  nor  dare  any  In 
dian  put  his  foot  on  the  threshold  thereof,  under  penalty 
of  death  from  his  own  countrymen  ;  not  even  an  enemy 
will  an  Indian  put  to  death,  except  resisting  in  arms  ;  and 
as  for  injuring  helpless  women  and  children,  the  red  men, 
by  their  good  conduct  and  treatment  to  them,  will  (if  it  be 
possible)  make  the  Americans  blush  for  their  more  inhu 
man  conduct,  lately,  on  the  Escambia,  and  within  a  neu 
tral  territory. 

"  Inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  you  have  too  long  borne 
with  grievous  impositions — the  whole  brunt  of  the  war 
has  fallen  on  your  brave  sons  :  be  imposed  on  no  longer ; 
but  either  range  yourselves  under  the  standard  of  your 
forefathers,  or  observe  a  strict  neutrality.  If  you  comply 
with  either  of  these  offers,  whatever  provisions  you  send 
down  will  be  paid  for  in  dollars,  and  the  safety  of  the  per 
sons  bringing  them,  as  well  as  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  guarantied  to  you.  Men  of  Kentucky,  let  me 
call  to  your  view,  (and  I  trust  to  your  abhorrence,)  the 
conduct  of  those  factions  which  hurried  you  into  this  civil, 
unjust,  and  unnatural  war,  at  a  time  when  Great  Britain 


ATTACK   ON    PENSACOLA.  97 

was  straining  every  nerve  in  defence  of  her  own  and  the 
liberties  of  the  world— when  the  bravest  of  her  sons  were 
fighting  and  bleeding  in  so  sacred  a  cause — when  she  was 
spending  millions  of  her  treasure  in  endeavoring  to  pull 
down  one  of  the  most  formidable  and  dangerous  tyrants 
that  ever  disgraced  the  form  of  man — when  groaning  Eu 
rope  was  almost  in  her  last  gasp — when  Britons  alone 
showed  an  undaunted  front — basely  did  those  assassins 
endeavor  to  stab  her  from  the  rear ;  she  has  turned  on 
them,  renovated  from  the  bloody  but  successful  struggle — 
Europe  is  happy  and  free,  and  she  now  hastens  justly  to 
avenge  the  unprovoked  insult.  Show  them  that  you  are 
not  collectively  unjust ;  leave  that  contemptible  few  V 
shift  for  themselves  ;  let  those  slaves  of  the  tyrant  send  a*v 
embassy  to  Elba,  and  implore  his  aid  ;  but  let  every  ho 
nest,  upright  American,  spurn  them  with  united  contempt. 
After  the  experience  of  twenty-one  years,  can  you  longer 
support  those  brawlers  for  liberty  who  call  it  freedom  when 
themselves  are  free  ?  Be  no  longer  their  dupes — accept 
of  my  offers — every  thing  I  have  promised  in  this  paper 
I  guaranty  to  you  on  the  sacred  honor  of  a  British  officer. 
"Given  under  my  hand,  at  my  head-quarters,  Pensa- 
cola,  this  29th  day  of  August,  1814. 

EDWARD  NICHOLLS." 

The  mere  fact  of  allowing  this  document  to  go  forth  to 
the  world,  unaccompanied  as  it  was  by  any  disavowal  on 
the  part  of  the  Spanish  governor,  constituted  a  sufficient 
justification  for  the  subsequent  conduct  of  General  Jack 
son.  Troops  had  been  drilled,  savages  supplied  with 
weapons,  and  munitions  of  war  prepared,  under  the  im 
mediate  observation  of  the  Spanish  authorities ;  and,  as 
if  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt,  their  implied  consent,  at  least, 
was  given  to  the  waiver  of  their  rights  of  neutrality,  by 
suffering  a  British  commander,  unrebuked,  to  establish  his 
"  head-quarters"  in  their  midst.  The  attack  on  Pensaco- 
la,  by  General  Jackson,  was  afterwards  made  the  subject  of 
an  investigation  in  Congress,  and  has  frequently  been  re 
ferred  to,  in  other  quarters,  in  terms  of  censure.  His  con 
duct  was  approved  by  his  government,  and  the  facts  cer 
tainly  present  a  complete  justification. 
5  . 


98  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

While  General  Jackson  was  making  preparation,  for  his 
contemplated  attack  on  Pensacola,  an  assault  was  made  by 
the  British  troops  from  that  post,  upon  Fort  Bowyer,  which 
was  situated  on  the  Mobile  river.  On  the  15th  of  Sep 
tember,  1814,  Colonel  Nicholls  attacked  the  fort  by  land, 
while  several  vessels,  mounting  altogether  about  ninety 
guns,  approached  by  sea.  The  expedition  ended  in  blow 
ing  up  one  of  the  English  ships,  greatly  damaging  another 
and  sending  off  Colonel  Nicholls  with  the  loss  of  one  of 
his  ships,  and,  as  it  was  said,  one  of  his  eyes.  Major 
Lawrence  commanded  the  American  fort.  His  brave 
band  consisted  of  only  one  hundred  and  thirty  men ; 
while  the  force  of  the  British  was  ninety  guns  by  sea, 
and  Nicholls  assaulted  the  fort  by  land,  with  a  twelve- 
pound  howitzer,  and  several  hundred  marines,  sailors, 
and  savages.  This  affair  was  highly  creditable  to  Major 
Lawrence  and  his  men.  The  disparity  of  force  was  very 
great;  and  this  disgraceful  beating  at  the  outset  must 
have  had  a  considerable  effect  upon  the  enemy.  Jackson 
was  still  more  firmly  resolved,  after  this  attack,  to  break  up 
the  rendezvous  at  Pensacola ;  and  on  the  6th  of  November, 
1814,  he  marched  against  it,  demolished  all  its  defences 
and  protections,  drove  out  the  British  and  the  savages, 
and  taught  Nicholls  and  the  Spanish  governor,  that  there 
was  still  one  country  left  which  was  not  to  be  insulted 
with  impunity  by  the  satellites  of  despotism. 


MARCH    TO    NEW  ORLEANS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1814.  Jackson  marches  to  New  Orleans — Preparations  to  defend 
the  city — Surrounded  by  traitors  and  spies — Situation  of  the  coun 
try — Strength  of  the  British  expedition — Firmness  of  Jackson — 
The  city  placed  under  martial  law — Vigorous  measures  rendered 
absolutely  necessary — Landing  of  the  British — Alarm  in  the  city — 
Jackson  determines  to  attack  them — Disposition  of  his  forces— 
Battle  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-third  of  December — Gallant  con 
duct  of  the  American  troops — Repulse  of  the  British — The  complete 
triumph  of  the  Americans  prevented  by  the  darkness  of  the  night 
—Adventure  of  Colonels  Dyer  and  Gibson — The  Americans  fall 
back  to  a  new  position,  and  prepare  to  fortify  it — Effect  of  the  bat 
tle.  1814. 

AFTER  administering  this  severe,  but  deserved  rebuke, 
to  the  Spanish  governor,  General  Jackson  immediately 
repaired,  with  a  small  portion  of  his  army,  to  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  at  that  time  the  most  vulnerable  point  on 
the  southern  frontier.  He  arrived  there  on  the  1st  day 
of  December,  1814,  and  on  the  4th  it  was  rumored  that  a 
British  fleet  was  approaching  the  coast.  Two  days  after, 
the  report  was  confirmed,  and  it  was  positively  known 
that  Admiral  Cochrane  and  Sir  George  Cockburn,  who 
had  been  compelled  to  retreat  down  the  Chesapeake  after 
the  burning  of  Washington  city,  had  sailed  for  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  with  the  forces  under  their  command.  Jackson 
did  not  lose  a  single  moment,  but  at  once  applied  himself 
vigorously  to  the  work  of  preparation.  Previous  to  his 
arrival,  the  inhabitants  haifc  become  desponding  and  in 
different.  The  influence  of  a  master-mind  soon  aroused 
every  thing  into  activity.  Confidence  was  speedily  re 
stored.  Resources  that  none  had  ever  dreamed  of  sprang 
up  at  his  bidding.  His  genius  and  perseverance  soon 
found  means  for  the  crisis,  desperate  as  it  appeared,  while 
his  determined  energy  and  resolute  will,  manifested  on  all 


100  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

occasions,  in  the  midst  of  danger  and  alarm,  excited  the 
hopes  of  the  timid,  and  infused  new  courage  into  the 
breasts  of  the  wavering  and  faint-hearted. 

The  city  of  New  Orleans,  at  this  time,  contained  a  popu 
lation  of  about  30,000  inhabitants,  most  of  whom,  as  the 
territory  of  Louisiana  had  but  recently  been  purchased, 
were  of  French  and  Spanish  descent.  As  a  very  natural 
consequence,  their  attachment  to  their  new  government 
was  any  thing  but  ardent  or  sincere.  Jackson  had  nof 
only  prejudices  and  jealousies  to  contend  against,  but 
treason  lurked  everywhere  around  him.  Spies  were  con 
stantly  engaged  in  observing  his  motions,  and  the  very 
men  whose  firesides  he  came  to  protect  from  outrage  and 
molestation,  corresponded  with  the  enemy  at  Pensacola. 
In  addition  to  these  difficulties,  the  American  general  was 
seriously  embarrassed  from  the  want  of  arms,  ammuni 
tion,  and  troops.  The  Tennessee  militia  under  General 
Carroll,  and  the  mounted  riflemen,  commanded  by  Ge 
neral  Coffee,  arrived  soon  after  Jackson  reached  the  city. 
In  order  to  conceal  his  real  weakness  from  the  enemy, 
these  troops  were  encamped  a  few  miles  out  of  town,  and 
their  number  intentionally  represented  to  be  much  larger 
than  it  really  was.  He  did  not  wish  his  detachments  to 
be  counted  ;  and  it  was  a  part  of  his  policy  to  exaggerate 
his  force,  to  deceive  the  spies  and  impose  upon  the  enemy. 
Besides  this,  the  appearance  and  accoutrements  of  the 
western  volunteers,  though  exactly  suited  to  their  mode 
of  warfare,  were  not  particularly  calculated  to  inspire  con 
fidence  or  courage  in  those  who  would  have  been  more 
highly  gratified  at  beholding  all  "the  pride,  pomp,  and 
circumstance  of  glorious  war."  In  distributing  his  forces, 
Jackson  took  especial  care  to  place  them  in  such  a  man 
ner,  that  they  could  be  readily  assembled  in  a  single  mas 
upon  New  Orleans.  • 

The  city  itself  was  the  point  really  menaced.  It  is 
situated  around  a  bend  of  the  Mississippi  river,  on  tho 
eastern  bank.  It  is  generally  approached  by  vessels,  from 
the  river,  although  small  craft,  such  as  schooners  and 
sloops,  navigate  lakes  Pontchartrain  and  Borgne.  A  nar 
row  strip  of  land,  varying  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to 


SITUATION    OF    THE    CITY.  101 

two  or  three  miles,  borders  the  river,  gradually  tapering 
off  into  a  swamp,  as  it  recedes,  until  it  reaches  the  lakes. 
This  strip  of  land  is  covered  with  plantations,  and  is  pro 
tected  from  the  inundations  of  the  river  by  an  embankment 
of  earth,  called  the  "  levee,"  which  extends  far  above  the 
city,  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

The  expedition  fitted  out  by  the  British  against  New 
Orleans  was  truly  a  formidable  one.  The  fleet  under 
Admiral  Cochrane  numbered  more  than  eighty  sail,  pre 
vious  to  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcements.  On  board 
the  transports  were  eleven  thousand  "  heroes  of  the  Pe 
ninsula,"  fresh  from  the  blood-stained  field  of  Vittoria,com- 
manded  by  four  able  and  experienced  generals ;  two 
admirals,  and  twelve  thousand  seamen  and  marines,  with 
fire-ships,  rockets,  ammunition,  and  artillery  in  abund 
ance.  This  array  of  strength,  which  lost  nothing  of  its 
terrors  in  the  rumors  circulated  by  the  agents  of  the  British 
government,  was  not  by  any  means  to  be  despised.  Ge 
neral  Jackson  foresaw  the  danger,  and  determined  to  avert 
it.  He  felt  that  it  was  one  of  those  rare  occasions  which 
will  sometimes  occur,  when  it  was  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  will  of  one  man  to  guide  and  control  every  thing. 
The  press  itself  had  been,  in  part,  suborned  by  the  enemy, 
and  the  legislature  was  too  much  under  British  influence 
to  listen  to  his  wise  suggestion  in  favor  of  the  repeal  of 
the  Habeas  Corpus  Act.  He  accordingly  resolved,  with 
out  a  moment's  hesitation,  to  assume  the  power  which 
cowardice  dared  not  exercise.  The  city  was  placed  under 
martial  law,  and  in  one  instance,  where  a  traitor  whom  he 
had  imprisoned  had  been  set  at  liberty  by  Judge  Hall,  he 
ordered  the  judge  himself  into  confinement  for  interfering 
with  his  authority.  The  sequel  conclusively  showed  that 
these  vigorous  measures  were  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
safety  and  protection  of  the  city,  and  a  grateful  country  did 
not  fail  to  appreciate  the  patriotic  motives  which  prompted 
him  in  the  exercise  of  this  supreme  power. 

The  English  armament,  instead  of  coming  up  the  river, 
entered  the  lakes  which  connect  with  the  gulf,  and  on  the 
23d  of  December  commenced  landing  their  forces  on  the 
narrow  strip  of  land  bordering  the  river.  They  reached 


102  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

this  point  by  means  of  the  Bayou  Bienvenu  and  Villere's 
canal,  through  which  they  passed  in  their  boats.  They 
were  at  this  time  ignorant  of  the  extent  of  the  preparations 
made  by  Jackson  to  receive  them,  and  instead  of  marching- 
directly  upon  the  city,  which  would  have  been  the  safest 
course,  their  commander  encamped  where  he  had  landed, 
on  the  plantations  of  two  or  three  French  settlers.  When 
Tackson  received  the  intelligence  that  the  British  had  ef- 
ected  a  landing,  he  determined  to  attack  them  on  the 
night  of  the  23d.  Generals  Coffee  and  Carroll  wers 
ordered  to  proceed  immediately  from  their  encampment- 
and  join  him  with  all  haste.  Although  four  miles  above? 
they  arrived  in  the  city  in  less  than  two  hours  after  the 
order  had  been  issued.  These  forces,  with  the  seventh 
and  forty-fourth  regiments,  the  Louisiana  troops,  and 
Colonel  Hinds'  dragoons,  from  Mississippi,  constituted 
the  strength  of  his  army,  which  could  be  brought  into 
action  against  the  enemy.  It  was  thought  advisable  that 
General  Carroll  and  his  division  should  be  disposed  in  the 
rear,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  no  correct  information 
of  the  force  landed  through  Villere's  canal,  and  because 
Jackson  feared  that  this  probably  might  be  merely  a  feint 
intended  to  divert  his  attention,  while  a  much  stronger 
and  more  numerous  division,  having  already  gained  some 
point  higher  on  the  lake,  might,  by  advancing  in  his 
absence,  gain  his  rear,  and  succeed  in  their  design.  Being 
thus  ignorant  of  their  movements,  it  was  essential  that  he 
should  be  prepared  for  the  worst,  and  by  different  dispo 
sitions  of  his  troops  be  ready  to  offer  an  effectual  resist 
ance  in  whatever  quarter  he  might  be  assailed.  General 
Carroll,  therefore,  at  the  head  of  his  division,  and  Governor 
Claiborne,  with  the  state  militia,  were  directed  to  take 
post  on  the  Gentilly  road,  which  leads  from  Chef  Menteur 
another  landing-place,  to  New  Orleans,  and  to  defend  it  t 
the  last  extremity.  With  the  remainder  of  his  troops 
about  two  thousand  in  number,  Jackson  hastened  down 
the  river,  towards  the  point  where  it  had  been  reported 
the  British  had  effected  a  landing. 

Alarm  pervaded  the  city.     The  marching  and  counter 
marching  of  the  troops,  the  proximity  of  the  enemy,  with 


TWENTY-THIRD    OF    DECEMBER.  103 

the  approaching  contest,  and  uncertainty  of  the  issue,  had 
excited  a  general  apprehension.  It  was  feared  that  the 
British  might  be  already  on  their  way,  before  the  neces 
sary  arrangements  could  be  made  to  oppose  them.  To 
prevent  this,  Colonel  Hayne,  with  two  companies  of  rifle 
men,  and  the  Mississippi  dragoons,  was  sent  forward  to 
reconnoitre  their  camp,  and  learn  their  position  and  num 
bers,  and  if  they  should  be  found  advancing,  to  harass  and 
oppose  them  at  every  step,  until  the  main  body  should 
arrive. 

An  inconsiderable  circumstance  at  this  moment  evinced 
what  unlimited  confidence  was  reposed  in  Jackson's  skill 
and  bravery.  As  his  troops  were  marching  through  the 
city,  his  ears  were"  assailed  with  the  screams  and  cries  of 
innumerable  females,  who  had  collected  on  the  way,  and 
seemed  to  apprehend  the  worst  of  consequences.  Feeling 
for  their  distresses,  and  anxious  to  quiet  them,  he  directed 
Mr.  Livingston,  one  of  his  aids-de-camp,  to  address  them 
in  the  French  language.  "  Say  to  them,"  said  he,  "  not 
to  be  alarmed :  the  enemy  shad  never  reach  the  city  !" 
It  operated  like  an  electric  shock.  To  know  that  he  him 
self  was  not  apprehensive  of  a  fatal  result,  inspired  them 
with  altered  feelings  ;  sorrow  was  ended,  and  their  grief 
converted  into  hope  and  confidence. 

The  general  arrived  in  view  of  the  enemy  a  little  before 
dark.  Having  previously  ascertained  from  Colonel  Hayne, 
who  had  been  sent  in  advance,  their  position,  and  that  their 
strength  was  about  two  thousand,  though  it  afterwards 
proved  to  be  three  thousand,  he  immediately  concerted 
the  mode  of  attack,  and  hastened  to  execute  it. 

General  Coffee,  with  his  brigade,  Colonel  Hinds'  dra 
goons,  and  Captain  BeaPs  company  of  riflemen,  was  di 
rected  to  march  to  the  left,  keeping  near  the  swamp,  and,  if 
possible,  to  turn  the  enemy's  right,  and  drive  them  towards 
the  river,  where  the  Caroline,  a  schooner  of  war  commanded 
by  Commodore  Patterson,  would  drop  down  and  open  upon 
them.  The  firing  of  the  vessel  was  the  appointed  signal 
for  a  simultaneous  attack  on  all  sides.  The  rest  of  the 
troops,  consisting  of  the  regulars,  and  Planche's  city  vo 
lunteers,  Daquin's  colored  troops,  and  the  artillery 


104  LIFE    OF  JACKSON. 

Lieutenant  Spotts,  supported  by  a  company  of  marine 
commanded  by  Colonel  McKee,  advanced  on  the  road  aloni 
the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  were   commanded  by 
Jackson  in  person. 

On  approaching  the  enemy's  position,  their  encampment 
was  discovered,  by  the  light  of  their  camp-fires,  to  be 
formed  with  the  left  resting  on  the  river,  and  extending 
into  the  open  field.  General  Coffee  had  advanced,  wit 
caution  and  silence,  beyond  their  pickets,  next  the  swamp 
and  nearly  reached  the  point  to  which  he  was  ordered, 
when  a  broadside  from  the  Caroline  announced  that  the 
battle  had  begun.  Patterson  had  proceeded  slowly,  giving 
time,  as  he  believed,  for  the  execution  of  the  arrangements 
contemplated  on  shore.  So  sanguine  had  the  British  been 
in  the  belief  that  they  would  be  kindly  received,  and  little 
opposition  attempted,  that  the  Caroline  floated  by  the  sen 
tinels,  and  anchored  before  their  camp,  without  the  least 
molestation.  On  passing  the  front  picket,  she  was  hailed 
in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  but  not  returning  an  answer,  no 
further  question  was  made.  This,  added  to  some  other 
attendant  circumstances,  confirmed  the  opinion  that  they 
believed  her  to  be  a  vessel  laden  with  provisions,  which 
had  been  sent  out  from  New  Orleans,  and  was  intended 
for  them.  Having  reached  what  appeared,  from  their 
fires,  to  be  the  centre  of  their  encampment,  her  anchors 
were  cast,  and  her  character  and  business  disclosed  by  her 
guns.  So  unexpected  an  attack  produced  a  momentary 
confusion  ;  but  recovering  from  their  surprise,  the  enemy 
answered  the  fire  with  a  discharge  of  musketry  and  flight 
of  Congreve  rockets,  which  passed  without  injury,  while 
the  grape  and  cannister  from  her  guns  were  pouring  de 
struction  upon  them.  They  then  extinguished  their  fires, 
by  the  light  of  which  the  vessel  had  directed  her  guns  with 
remarkable  precision,  and  retired  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  into  the  open  field.  They  were  still  within  range 
of  the  cannon,  but  the  darkness  of  the  night  afforded  them 
considerable  protection. 

General  Coffee,  having  dismounted  his  men,  and  turned 
his  horses  loose,  at  a  large  ditch  in  the  rear  of  Laronde's 
plantation,  had  gained,  as  he  thought,  the  centre  of  the 


TWENTY-THIRD    OF    DECEMBER.  105 

enemy's  line,  when  the  signal  from  the  Caroline  reached 
him.  He  directly  wheeled  his  column  in,  and  forming 
his  line  parallel  with  the  river,  moved  towards  their  camp. 
He  had  scarcely  advanced  more  than  a  hundred  yards, 
when  he  received  a  heavy  fire  from  the  enemy  in  his 
front ;  this  was  an  unexpected  circumstance  to  him,  be 
cause  he  supposed  them  to  be  lying  principally  at  a  dis 
tance,  and  that  the  only  opposition  he  should  meet,  until 
he  approached  towards  the  levee,  would  be  from  their  ad 
vanced  pickets.  The  circumstance  of  his  coming  in  con 
tact  with  them  so  soon,  was  owing  to  the  severe  attack  of 
the  schooner,  which  had  compelled  the  enemy  to  abandon 
their  camp,  and  form  without  the  reach  of  her  deadly  fire. 
The  moon  was  shining,  but  reflected  her  light  too  feebly 
to  discover  objects  at  a  distance.  The  only  means,  there' 
fore,  of  producing  any  positive  effect,  with  the  kind  of 
force  engaged,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  riflemen,  was 
not  to  venture  at  random,  but  to  discharge  their  pieces 
only  when  there  should  be  a  certainty  of  hitting  the  ob 
ject  aimed  at.  This  order  being  given,  the  line  pressed 
on,  and  having  gained  a  position  near  enough  to  distin 
guish  the  enemy,  a  general  fire  was  given ;  it  was  well 
directed,  and  too  severe  and  destructive  to  be  withstood ; 
the  British  gave  way  and  retreated;  they  rallied  again, 
however,  but  were  again  attacked  and  forced  to  retire. 
The  gallant  yeomanry,  led  by  their  brave  commander, 
pressed  fearlessly  on,  and  drove  the  invaders  from  every 
position  they  attempted  to  maintain.  It  was  unnecessary 
for  their  general  to  encourage  and  allure  them  to  deeds 
of  valor :  his  own  example  was  sufficient  to  excite  them. 
Always  in  their  midst,  he  was  cool  and  collected.  Un 
mindful  of  danger,  he  continued  to  remind  his  troops  that 
*hey  had  often  said  they  could  fight,  and  now  was  the 
ime  to  prove  it. 

The  British,  driven  back  by  the  resolute  firmness  and 
intrepidity  of  their  assailants,  reached  a  grove  of  orange 
trees,  with  a  ditch  running  past  it,  protected  by  a  fence  on 
the  margin,  where  they  were  halted  and  formed  for  battle. 
It  was  a  favorable  position,  promising  entire  security,  and 
it  was  occupied  with  a  confidence  that  they  could  not  be 


106  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

forced  to  yield  it.  Coffee's  brave  troops,  strengthened  in 
their  hopes  of  success,  moved  on,  nor  discovered  the  ad 
vantages  against  them,  until  a  fire  from  the  entire  British 
line  showed  their  position  and  defence.  A  sudden  check 
was  given  ;  but  it  was  only  momentary,  forgathering  fresh 
ardor,  they  charged  across  the  ditch,  gave  a  deadly  and 
destructive  fire,  and  compelled  the  enemy  to  retire.  The 
retreat  continued,  until  gaining  a  similar  position,  the 
British  made  another  stand,  and  were  again  driven  from 
it  with  considerable  loss. 

Thus  the  battle  was  carried  on,  upon  the  left  wing,  until 
the  British  reached  the  bank  of  the  river ;  here  a  deter 
mined  stand  was  made,  and  further  encroachments  resisted : 
for  half  an  hour  the  conflict  was  extremely  violent  on  both 
sides.  The  American  troops  could  not  be  driven  from 
their  purpose,  nor  the  British  made  to  yield  their  ground  ; 
but  at  length,  having  suffered  greatly,  the  latter  were  un 
der  the  necessity  of  taking  refuge  behind  the  levee,  which 
afforded  a  breastwork,  and  protected  them  from  the  fatal 
fire  of  our  riflemen.  General  Coffee,  though  unacquainted 
with  their  position,  for  the  darkness  had  greatly  increased, 
contemplated  another  charge ;  but  one  of  his  officers,  who 
had  discovered  the  advantage  their  situation  gave  them, 
assured  him  it  was  too  hazardous ;  that  they  could  be 
driven  no  farther,  and  would,  from  the  point  they  occu 
pied,  resist  with  the  bayonet,  and  repel,  with  considerable 
loss,  any  attempt  that  might  be  made  to  dislodge  them. 
The  place  of  their  retirement  was  covered  in  front  by  a 
strong  bank,  which  had  been  extended  into  the  field,  to 
keep  out  the  river,  in  consequence  of  the  first  bank  hav 
ing  been  encroached  upon  and  undermined  in  several 
places  :  the  latter,  however,  was  still  entire  in  many  parts, 
and,  interposing  between  them  and  the  Mississippi,  it 
afforded  security  from  the  broadsides  of  the  schooner 
which  lay  off  at  some  distance.  A  further  apprehension, 
lest,  by  moving  still  nearer  to  the  river,  he  might  greatly 
expose  himself  to  the  fire  of  the  Caroline,  which  was  yet 
spiritedly  maintaining  the  conflict,  induced  Coffee  to  re 
tire  until  he  could  hear  from  the  commanding  general,  and 
receive  his  further  orders. 


TWENTY-THIRD    OF    DECEMBER.  107 

During  this  time,  the  right  wing,  under  Jackson,  had 
been  no  less  prompt  and  active.  The  advance,  consisting 
of  a  detachment  of  artillery  under  Lieutenant  Spotts, 
supported  by  sixty  marines,  moved  down  the  road  next 
the  levee.  On  their  left  was  the  seventh  regiment  of  in 
fantry,  led  by  Major  Piere.  The  forty-fourth,  commanded 
by  Major  Baker,  was  formed  on  the  extreme  left ;  while 
lanche's  and  Daquin's  battalions  of  city  guards  were  di 
rected  to  be  posted  in  the  centre,  between  the  seventh  and 
forty-fourth.  The  general  had  ordered  Colonel  Ross,  (who 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  brigadier-general,)  on  hearing  the 
signal  from  the  Caroline,  to  move  off  by  heads  of  com 
panies,  and,  on  reaching  the  enemy's  line,  to  deploy,  and 
unite  the  left  wing  of  his  command  with  the  right  of  Ge 
neral  Coffee's.  This  order  was  omitted  to  be  executed  ; 
and  the  consequence  was,  an  early  introduction  of  con 
fusion  in  the  ranks,  which  prevented  the  important  design 
of  uniting  the  two  divisions. 

Instead  of  moving  in  column  from  the  first  position,  the 
troops,  with  the  exception  of  the  seventh  regiment,  next 
the  person  of  the  general,  which  advanced  agreeably  to 
the  instructions  that  had  been  given,  were  formed  and 
marched  in  extended  line.  Having  sufficient  ground  to 
form  on  at  first,  no  inconvenience  was  at  the  moment  sus 
tained  ;  but  this  advantage  presently  failing,  the  centre 
became  compressed,  and  was  forced  in  the  rear.  The 
river  gradually  inclined  to  the  left  from  the  place  where 
they  were  formed,  and  diminished  the  space  originally  pos 
sessed.  Farther  in,  stood  Laronde's  house,  surrounded 
by  a  grove  of  clustered  orange-trees :  this  pressing  the 
left,  and  the  river  the  right  wing,  to  the  centre,  formed 
a  curve,  which  presently  threw  the  principal  part  of 
Blanche's  and  Daquin's  battalions  without  the  line.  This 
inconvenience  might,  have  been  remedied,  but  for  the 
briskness  of  the  advance,  and  the  darkness  of  the  night. 
A  heavy  fire  from  behind  a  fence,  immediately  before 
them,  brought  the  enemy  to  view.  Acting  in  obedience 
to  their  orders,  not  to  wraste  their  ammunition  at  random, 
)ur  troops  pressed  forward  against  the  opposition  in  their 
front,  and  thereby  threw  those  battalions  in  the  rear. 


108  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

A  fog  rising  from  the  river,  and  mingling  with  the 
smoke  from  the  guns,  covered  the  plain,  and  gradually 
diminished  the  little  light  shed  by  the  moon,  at  the  same 
time  greatly  increasing  the  darkness  of  the  night :  no  clue 
was  left,  therefore,  to  ascertain  how  or  where  the  enemy 
were  situated.  There  was  no  alternative  but  to  move  on 
in  the  direction  of  their  fire,  which  subjected  the  assail 
ants  to  material  disadvantages.  The  British,  driven  fron? 
their  first  position,  had  retired  and  occupied  another,  be 
hind  a  deep  ditch  that  ran  out  of  the  Mississippi  towards 
the  swamp,  on  the  margin  of  which  was  a  wood-railed 
fence.  Here,  strengthened  by  increased  numbers,  they 
again  opposed  the  advance  of  our  troops.  Having  waited 
until  they  had  approached  sufficiently  near  their  fastnesses 
to  be  discovered,  they  discharged  a  fire  upon  the  advancing 
army.  Instantly  the  American  battery  was  formed,  and 
began  to  play  briskly  upon  them  ;  while  the  infantry,  press 
ing  forward,  aided  in  the  conflict,  which  at  this  point  was 
for  some  time  spiritedly  maintained.  At  this  moment  a 
brisk  sally  was  made  upon  our  advance,  when  the  marines, 
unequal  to  the  assault,  were  already  giving  way.  The 
adjutant-general,  and  Colonels  Platt  and  Chotard,  hasten 
ing  to  their  support,  with  a  part  of  the  seventh,  drove  the 
enemy,  and  saved  the  artillery  from  capture.  General 
Jackson,  perceiving  the  decided  advantages  which  were 
derived  from  the  position  they  occupied,  ordered  their 
line  to  be  charged.  It  was  obeyed  with  cheerfulness, 
and  executed  with  promptness.  Pressing  on,  our  troops 
gained  the  ditch,  and  pouring  across  it  a  well-aimed  fire, 
compelled  them  to  retreat,  and  to  abandon  their  intrench 
ment.  The  plain  on  which  they  were  contending  was  cut 
to  pieces  by  races  from  the  river,  to  convey  the  water  to 
the  swamp.  The  enemy  were  therefore  very  soon  en 
abled  to  occupy  another  position,  equally  favourable  with 
the  one  whence  they  had  been  just  driven,  where  they 
formed  for  battle,  and  for  some  time  gallantly  maintained 
themselves ;  but  they  were  at  length,  after  a  stubborn  re 
sistance,  forced  to  yield  their  ground. 

The  enemy  discovering  the  firm  and  obstinate  advance 
Tiade  by  the  right  wing  of  the  American  army,  and  pre- 


TWENTY-THIRD   OF    DECEMBER.  109 

suming,  perhaps,  that  its  principal  strength  was  posted  on 
the  road,  formed  the  intention  of  attacking  the  left.  Ob 
liquing  for  this  purpose,  an  attempt  was  made  to  turn  it. 
At  this  moment,  Daquin's  battalion  and  the  city  guards, 
being  marched  up  and  formed  on  the  left  of  the  forty- 
fourth  regiment,  met  and  repulsed  them. 

The  nature  of  the  contest  prevented  securing  those 
benefits  which  might  have  been  derived  from  the  artil 
lery.  The  darkness  of  the  night  was  such,  that  the  blaze 
of  the  enemy's  musketry  was  the  only  light  afforded  by 
which  to  determine  their  position,  or  be  capable  of  taking 
that  of  the  Americans  to  advantage  ;  yet,  notwithstanding, 
it  greatly  annoyed  them,  whenever  it  could  be  brought  to 
bear.  Directed  by  Lieutenant  Spotts,  a  vigilant  and  skilful 
officer,  with  men  to  aid  him  who  looked  to  nothing  but  a 
zealous  discharge  of  their  duty,  the  most  essential  and 
important  services  were  rendered. 

The  enemy  had  been  thrice  assailed  and  beaten,  and 
compelled  to  retreat  for  nearly  a  mile.  They  had  now 
retired,  and  if  found,  were  to  be  sought  for  amid  the  dark 
ness  of  the  night.  The  general,  therefore,  determined  to 
halt,  and  ascertain  Coffee's  position  and  success,  be-fore 
proceeding  farther,  for  as  yet  no  communication  had 
passed  between  them.  He  entertained  no  doubt,  from 
the  brisk  firing  in  that  direction,  that  he  had  been  warmly 
engaged ;  but  this  had  now  nearly  subsided :  the  Caro 
line,  too,  had  almost  ceased  her  operations  ;  it  being  only 
occasionally  that  the  noise  of  her  guns  disclosed  the  little 
opportunity  she  possessed  of  acting  efficiently. 

The  express  despatched  to  General  Jackson  from  the 
left  wing,  having  reached  him,  he  determined  not  to  pro 
secute  the  successes  he  had  gained.  The  darkness  of  the 
•light,  the  confusion  into  which  his  own  division  had  been 
hrown,  and  a  similar  disaster  produced  in  Coffee's  ranks, 
all  pointed  to  the  necessity  of  retiring  from  the  field,  and 
abandoning  the  contest  for  the  time.  The  bravery  and 
firmness  already  displayed  by  his  troops,  had  impressed 
him  with  the  belief,  that  by  pushing  forward  he  might 
capture  the  whole  British  army :  at  any  rate,  he  con 
sidered  it  but  a  game  of  venture  and  hazard,  which,  if 


110  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

unsuccessful,  could  not  occasion  his  own  defeat.  If  in 
competent  to  its  execution,  and  superior  numbers  or  su 
perior  discipline  should  compel  him  to  retire  in  his  turn, 
he  well  knew  that  the  enemy  would  not  have  temerity 
enough  to  attempt  pursuit,  on  account  of  the  extreme 
darkness,  and  their  ignorance  of  the  situation  of  the  coun 
try.  But  on  the  arrival  of  the  express  from  General  Cof 
fee,  and  having  been  informed  of  the  strength  of  th 
position  to  which  the  enemy  had  retired,  and  that  a  par 
of  the  left  wing  had  been  detached,  and  were  in  all  pro 
bability  captured,  he  determined  to  retire  from  the  field. 
General  Coffee  was  accordingly  directed  to  withdraw,  and 
take  up  his  position  at  Laronde's  plantation,  where  the 
line  had  been  first  formed ;  the  troops  on  the  right  were 
also  ordered  to  the  same  point. 

The  last  charge  made  by  the  left  wing  had  separated 
Colonel  Dyer  from  the  main  body,  with  two  hundred  men, 
and  Captain  Beal's  company  of  riflemen.  What  might  be 
their  fate,  whether  they  were  captured  or  had  effected 
their  retreat,  was,  at  this  time,  altogether  uncertain. 

Colonel  Dyer,  who  commanded  the  extreme  left,  on 
clearing  the  grove,  after  the  enemy  had  retired,  was 
marching  in  the  direction  in  which  he  expected  to  find 
General  Coffee ;  he  very  soon  discovered  a  force  in  front, 
and  halting  his  men,  hastened  towards  it ;  arriving  within 
a  short  distance,  he  was  hailed,  ordered  to  stop,  and  report 
to  whom  he  belonged :  Dyer,  and  Gibson,  his  lieutenant- 
colonel,  who  had  accompanied  him,  advanced  and  stated 
that  they  were  of  Coffee's  brigade  ;  by  this  time,  they  had 
nearly  reached  the  line,  and  perceiving  that  the  name  of 
the  brigade  they  had  stated  was  not  understood,  their  ap 
prehensions  were  awakened,  lest  it  might  be  a  detachment 
of  the  enemy  ;  in  this  opinion  they  were  immediately  con 
firmed,  and  having  wheeled  about  to  return,  they  were 
fired  on  and  pursued.  Gibson  had  scarcely  started,  when 
he  fell ;  before  he  could  recover,  a  soldier,  quicker  than 
the  rest,  had  reached  him,  and  pinned  hhi  to  the  ground 
with  his  bayonet ;  fortunately  he  was  but  slightly  wound 
ed  and  only  held  by  his  clothes  ;  thus  pinioned,  and  per 
ceiving  others  to  be  briskly  advancing,  but  a  moment  was 


ADVENTURE    OF    COLONEL    DYER.  Ill 

left  for  deliberation  ;  making  a  violent  exertion,  and  spring 
ing  to  his  feet,  he  threw  his  assailant  to  the  ground,  and 
made  good  his  escape.  Colonel  Dyer  had  retreated  about 
fifty  yards,  when  his  horse  dropped  dead.  Being  en 
tangled  in  the  fall,  and  receiving  a  wound  in  the  thigh, 
there  was  little  prospect  of  relief,  for  the  enemy  were 
briskly  advancing.  He  therefore  ordered  his  men,  who 
were  close  at  hand,  to  advance  and  fire,  which  checked 
the  approach  of  the  enemy,  and  enabled  him  to  escape. 
Having  tfius  discovered  an  enemy  in  a  direction  he  had 
not  expected,  and  uncertain  how  or  where  he  might  find 
General  Coffee,  he  determined  to  seek  him  to  the  right, 
and  moving  on  with  his  little  band,  forced  his  way  through 
the  enemy's  lines,  with  the  loss  of  sixty-three  of  his  men, 
who  were  killed  and  taken.  Captain  Beal,  with  equal 
bravery,  charged  through  their  ranks,  carrying  off  some 
prisoners,  and  losing  several  of  his  own  company. 

This  body  of  the  enemy  proved  to  be  a  reinforcement 
which  had  arrived  from  Bayou  Bienvenu  after  night. 
The  boats  that  landed  the  first  detachment  had  proceeded 
back  to  the  shipping,  and  having  returned,  were  on  their 
way  up  the  Bayou,  when  they  heard  the  guns  of  tho 
Caroline :  moving  hastily  on  to  the  assistance  of  those 
who  had  debarked  before  them,  they  reached  the  sho^e, 
and  knowing  nothing  of  the  situation  of  the  two  armies, 
during  the  engagement,  advanced  in  the  rear  of  Genei^al 
Coffee's  brigade.  Coming  in  contact  with  Colonel  Dyer 
and  Captain  Beal,  they  filed  off  to  the  left,  and  reached 
the  British  lines. 

This  detached  part  of  Coffee's  brigade,  unable  to  unite 
with  or  find  him,  retired  to  the  place  where  they  had  first 
formed,  and  joined  Colonel  Hinds'  dragoons,  who  had  re 
mained  on  the  ground  that  they  might  cover  the  retreat 
of  the  troops  if  it  became  necessary. 

Jackson  went  into  this  battle  confident  of  success ;  and 
his  arrangements  were  such  as  would  have  insured  it  even 
to  a  much  greater  extent,  but  for  the  intervention  of  circum 
stances  that  were  not  and  could  not  have  been  foreseen. 
The  Caroline  gave  her  signals,  and  commenced  the  battle 
a  little  too  early,  before  Coffee  had  reached  and  taken  his 


112  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

position,  and  before  every  thing  was  fully  in  readiness  to 
attain  the  objects  desired ;  but  it  was  chiefly  owing  to  the 
confusion  in  the  ranks  at  first  which  checked  the  rapidity 
of  Jackson's  advance,  gave  the  enemy  time  for  prepara 
tion,  and  prevented  his  division  from  uniting  with  the  right 
wing  of  General  Coffee's  brigade. 

Colonel  Hinds,  and  his  dragoons,  were  not  brought  into 
action  during  the  night.  Interspersed  as  the  plain  was 
with  innumerable  ditches,  diverging  in  different  directions 
it  was  impossible  that  cavalry  could  act  to  any  kmd  of  ad 
vantage.  After  the  battle  was  over,  they  were  formed  in 
advance  to  Avatch  the  movements  of  the  enemy  until 
morning. 

From  the  experiment  just  made,  Jackson  believed  it 
would  be  in  his  power  to  capture  the  British  army  ;  he 
concluded,  therefore,  to  order  General  Carroll,  with  his 
division,  down  to  his  assistance,  and  to  attack  them  again 
at  the  dawn  of  day.  Directing  Governor  Claiborne  to 
remain  at  his  post,  with  the  Louisiana  militia,  for  the 
defence  of  the  Gentilly  road,  an  important  pass  to  the  city, 
he  despatched  an  express  to  Carroll,  stating  to  him,  that 
if  there  had  been  no  appearance  of  a  force  during  the 
night,  in  the  direction  of  Chef  Menteur,  to  hasten  and 
join  him  with  the  troops  under  his  command ;  this  order 
was  executed  by  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Previous 
ly,  however,  to  his  arrival,  a  different  determination  was 
made.  It  was  ascertained  from  prisoners  who  had  been 
brought  in,  and  through  deserters,  that  the  strength  of  the 
enemy  during  the  battle  was  four  thousand,  and,  with  the 
reinforcements  which  had  reached  them  after  its  com 
mencement,  and  during  the  action,  their  force  could  not 
be  less  than  six ;  at  any  rate,  it  would  greatly  exceed  that 
of  the  Americans,  even  with  the  addition  of  the  Tennessee 
division.  Although  very  decided  advantages  had  been 
obtained,  yet  they  had  been  procured  under  circumstances 
that  might  be  wholly  lost  in  a  contest  waged  in  open  day, 
between  forces  so  disproportionate,  and  by  undisciplined 
troops  against  veteran  soldiers.  Jackson  well  knew  it 
was  incumbent  upon  him  to  act  a  part  entirely  defensive : 
should  the  attempt  to  gain  and  destroy  the  city  succeed, 


EFFECT  OF  THE  BATTLE.  113 

numerous  difficulties  would  present  themselves,  which 
might  be  avoided  so  long  as  he  could  hold  the  enemy  in 
check,  and  foil  their  designs. 

Being  firmly  persuaded  that  it  was  important  to  pursue 
a  course  calculated  to  insure  safety,  and  believing  it  at 
tainable  in  no  way  so  effectually,  as  in  occupying  some 
point,  and  by  the  strength  he  might  give  it,  compensate 
for  the  inferiority  of  his  numbers  and  their  want  of  dis 
cipline,  Jackson  determined  to  make  no  further  offen 
sive  efforts  until  he  could  more  certainly  discover  the 
views  of  the  enemy,  and  until  the  Kentucky  troops,  which 
had  not  yet  arrived,  should  reach  him.  In  pursuance  of 
this  idea,  after  having  ordered  Colonel  Hinds  to  occupy 
the  ground  he  was  then  abandoning,  and  to  observe  the 
enemy  closely,  he  fell  back  in  the  morning,  and  formed 
his  line  behind  a  deep  ditch  that  extended  to  the  swamp, 
at  right  angles  from  the  river.  There  were  two  circum 
stances  strongly  recommending  the  importance  of  this 
place  : — the  swamp,  which,  from  the  highlands  at  Baton 
Rouge,  skirted  the  river  at  irregular  distances,  and  in 
many  places  was  almost  impervious,  at  this  point,  ap 
proached  within  four  hundred  yards  of  the  Mississippi 
and  hence,  £pm  the  narrowness  of  the  pass,  was  more 
easily  to  be  defended ;  in  addition  to  this,  there  was  a 
deep  canal,  the  dirt  from  which  having  been  thrown  on 
the  upper  side,  already  formed  a  tolerable  work  of  defence. 
Behind  this  his  troops  were  formed,  and  proper  measures 
adopted  for  increasing  the  strength  of  the  position,  with 
the  determination  never  to  abandon  it. 

The  soldier  who  is  familiar  with  the  scenes  of- the  battle 
field,  and  understands  what  slight  circumstances  frequent 
ly  counteract  the  operations  of  a  whole  campaign,  and 
produce  the  most  decided  advantages,  where  a  different 
issue  might  not  unreasonably  have  been  expected,  will  be 
able  properly  to  appreciate  the  effect  of  the  attack  made 
by  General  Jackson  on  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  upon 
the  night  of  the  23d  of  December.  Although  the  dread 
ful  carnage  of  the  8th  of  January  was,  in  point  of  fact, 
the  finishing  blow  that  struck  down  the  towering  hopes 
of  the  invaders,  and  put  an  end  to  the  contest,  yet  in 


114  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

the  previous  engagement  there  was  much  to  excite  their 
fears  and  apprehensions.  They  had  reached  the  Mis 
sissippi  without  the  fire  of  a  gun,  and  encamped  upon  its 
banks  as  composedly  as  if  they  had  been  seated  on  their 
own  soil,  and  at  a  distance  from  all  danger.  These  were 
circumstances  which  impressed  them  with  the  belief  that 
they  need  expect  but  little  opposition  ;  that  success  was 
certain ;  and  that  the  troops  with  whom  they  were  to  con 
tend  would  scarcely  venture  to  resist  them.  So  confident 
were  they  in  their  expectations,  that  they  intended  to 
move  forward  the  next  day,  and  attack  the  city.  But 
Jackson  well  knew  how  essential  an  early  impression  was 
to  ultimate  success,  and  resolved  to  assail  them  at  the  mo 
ment  of  their  landing,  arid  "attack  them  in  their  first 
position."  With  a  force  inferior  by  one-half  to  that  of  the 
enemy,  at  an  unexpected  moment  he  had  broken  into  their 
camp,  and  with  his  undisciplined  yeomanry  driven  before 
him  the  pride  of  England  and  the  conquerors  of  Europe. 
It  was  an  event  that  could  not  fail  to  destroy  all  previous 
theories,  and  establish  a  conclusion  which  the  British 
had  not  before  formed,  that  they  were  contending  against 
valor  inferior  to  none  they  had  seen,  and  before  which 
their  own  bravery  and  skill  availed  nothing  It  had  the 
effect  of  satisfying  them,  that  the  quantity  and  kind  of 
troops  it  was  in  our  power  to  bring  into  action,  were  very 
different  from  any  thing  that  had  been  represented  to 
them ;  for  much  as  they  had  heard  of  the  courage  of  the 
man  with  whom  they  were  contending,  they  could  not 
suppose  that  a  general,  having  a  country  to  defend,  and  a 
reputation  to  preserve,  would  venture  to  attack  a  force 
greatly  superior  to  his  own,  on  ground  they  had  chosen, 
and  one  too,  which,  by  the  numerous  victories  it  had 
achieved,  had  already  acquired  the  highest  distinction. 
All  these  circumstances  tended  to  convince  them  that 
his  force  must  far  surpass  their  expectations,  and  be  com 
posed  of  materials  very  different  from  what  they  had  ima 
gined. 

The  American  troops  which  were  actually  engaged  in 
the  action,  did  not  amount  to  two  thousand  men,  as  ap 
pears  by  the  following  statement : 


DEATH  OF  COLONEL  LAUDERDALE.         115 

Part  of  Coffee's   brigade   and  Captain  BeaFs  company, 
amounting  to  '"£'      ^-'"'      (548 

The  7th  and  44th  regiments,         -        V   ; if- _      V    763 
Company  of  marines  and  artillery,      -      '.-'"'      -  82 

Planche's  and  Daquin's  battalions,  -         -     488 

Total         1981 

This  small  body  of  men,  for  more  than  an  hour,  main- 
ained  a  severe  conflict  with  a  force  of  four  or  five  thou 
sand,  and  retired  in  safety  from  the  field,  with  the  loss 
of  but  twenty-four  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
wounded,  and  seventy-four  made  prisoners ;  while  the 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  of  the  enemy,  were  not 
less  than  four  hundred.  The  officers  and  soldiers  under 
Jackson  executed  every  order  with  promptitude,  and  nobly 
sustained  the  honour  of  their  country.  Lieutenant-Colo 
nel  Lauderdale,  of  Coffee's  brigade,  an  officer  of  great  pro 
mise,  and  on  whom  every  reliance  was  placed,  fell  man 
fully  fighting  at  his  post.  He  entered  the  service,  and 
descended  the  river  with  the  volunteers  under  General 
Jackson,  in  the  winter  of  1812;  passed  through  all  the 
hardships  and  difficulties  of  the  Creek  war;  and  ever 
manifested  a  commendable  alacrity  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duty.  Young,  brave,  and  skilful,  he  had  already  afforded 
evidences  of  a  capacity  which  promised  to  be  exceedingly 
useful  in  the  career  he  had  embraced.  His  exemplary 
conduct,  both  in  civil  and  military  life,  had  acquired  for 
him  a  respect  that  rendered  his  death  a  subject  of  general 
regret.  Lieutenant  McLelland,  a  valuable  young  officer  of 
the  7th,  was  also  among  the  slain.  General  Coffee's  bri 
gade  imitated  the  example  of  their  commander  during  the 
action,  and  bravely  and  ably  supported  the  character  they 
had  previously  established.  The  unequal  contest  in  which 
they  were  engaged  never,  occurred  to  their  minds,  nor 
choked,  for  a  moment,  the  rapidity  of  their  advance. 
Had  the  British  known  that  they  were  merely  riflemen, 
and  without  bayonets,  a  firm  stand  would  have  arrested 
their  progress,  and  destruction  or  capture  would  have  been 
the  inevitable  consequence ;  but  this  circumstance  being 
unknown,  every  charge  they  made  was  crowned  with 


116  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

success,  producing  discomfiture  in  the  opposing  ranks, 
and  routing  and  driving  superior  numbers  before  them. 
Officers,  from  the  highest  to  the  inferior  grades,  were  alike 
prompt  and  efficient.  Ensign  Leach,  of  the  7th  regiment, 
being  wounded  through  the  body,  still  remained  at  his 
post,  in  the  performance  of  his  duty.  Colonel  Kemper, 
amid  the  confusion  introduced  on  the  left  wing,  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  handful  of  men,  detached  from 
the  main  body,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  party  of  the  enemy : 
never  did  any  man  better  exemplify  the  truth  of  the  as 
sertion,  that  discretion  is  sometimes  the  better  part  of  valor; 
to  attempt  resistance  was  idle,  and  could  only  end  in  certain 
destruction.  Calling  to  a  group  of  soldiers  who  were  near 
him,  in  a  positive  tone,  he  demanded  of  them  where  their 
regiment  was.  Being  themselves  at  fault,  they  were  un 
able  to  answer;  but  supposing  him  to  be  one  of  their 
officers,  they  obeyed  his  orders,  and  followed  him  to  his 
own  line,  where  they  were  made  prisoners. 

The  7th  regiment,  commanded  by  Major  Piere,  and  the 
44th,  under  Major  Baker,  aided  by  Major  Butler,  gallant 
ly  maintained  the  conflict;  forced  the  enemy  from  every 
position  they  attempted  to  occupy ;  and  drove  them  some 
distance  from  the  first  point  of  attack.  Confiding  in  them 
selves,  and  in  their  general,  who  was  constantly  with  them, 
exposed  to  danger  and  in  the  midst  of  the  fight,  inspiring 
them  by  his  ardor  and  encouraging  them  by  his  example, 
the  American  soldiers  bravely  advanced  to  the  conflict,  nor 
evinced  a  disposition  to  retire,  until  the  prudence  of  thei 
commander  dictated  the  necessary  order. 


THE    AMERICANS    FORTIFY  THEIR    POSITION.  117 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

1814.  The  Americans  fortify  their  position — Jackson's  peremptory 
orders  to  Major  Lacoste — Defence  of  the  Pass  Barrataria — Cap 
tain  Lafitte — Attack  made  by  the  British  on  the  28th  of  December 
— Defensive  preparations  hastened — Death  of  Colonel  Henderson — 
Disaffection  in  New  Orleans — Information  communicated  to  the 
British  fleet — Stratagem  of  Mr.  Shields— Conduct  of  the  Louisiana 
legislature — Patriotic  reply  of  Jackson  to  the  committee — Attempt 
to  supply  his  troops  with  arms — Gallantry  of  Colonel  Hinds — Can 
nonade  on  the  1st  of  January — Position  of  the  American  army — 
Jackson's  orders  to  the  Frenchman  to  defend  his  property — De 
fences  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river — Caution  of  Jackson  in  con- 
cealing  the  number  of  his  troops.  1815. 

THE  distinguishing  traits  *in  the  character  of  General 
Jackson,  as  a  military  commander,  were  clear-headed  sa 
gacity,  promptness  of  decision,  and  rapidity  of  execution. 
He  had  no  sooner  resolved  on  the  course  which  he  thought 
necessary  to  be  pursued,  than  he  hastened  with  all  possible 
dispatch,  to  secure  its  completion.  After  the  engagement 
with  the  British  on  the  night  of  the  23d  of  December,  it 
was  evident  to  his  inind  that  it  would  be  exceedingly  un 
wise  to  risk  an  encounter  with  the  enemy,  in  an  open 
field,  at  the  head  of  an  inferior,  undisciplined,  and  un 
armed  force.  He  conceived,  therefore,  that  a  defensive 
policy  was  the  most  judicious,  and  that  by  prudence  and 
caution  he  would  be  able  to  preserve  what  might  be  en 
dangered  by  any  offensive  movement.  Hence,  he  de 
termined  to  fortify  himself  as  effectually  as  the  peril  and 
exigencies  of  the  moment  would  permit.  When  to  expect 
an  attack,  he  could  not  tell ;  preparation  and  readiness  to 
meet  it,  were  for  him  to  determine  upon ;  all  else  was  for 
the  enemy.  He  proceeded  promptly  with  his  system  of 
defence,  and  such  was  his  thoughtfulness  and  anxiety, 
ihat,  until  the  night  of  the  27th,  when  his  lines  were  com- 


118  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

pleted,  he  never  slept,  or  closed  his  eyes  for  a  moment. 
Resting  his  hopes  of  safety  and  security  to  the  city,  on 
his  ability  to  check  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  he  was 
everywhere  present,  encouraging  his  troops,  and  hasten 
ing  a  completion  of  the  work.  The  concern  and  excite 
ment  produced  by  the  important  object  before  him,  were 
so  great,  that  for  five  days  and  four  nights  he  was  con 
stantly  employed.  His  line  of  defence,  the  celebrated 
cotton  embankment,  being  completed  on  the  night  of  the 
27th,  for  the  fir&t  time  since  the  arrival  of  the  enemy,  he 
sought  that  rest  and  repose  he  so  much  needed. 

The  violence  of  the  attack  made  on  the  night  of  the 
23d  of  December,  naturally  excited  the  fears  of  the  British 
troops,  and  it  was  considered  important  to  keep  their  ap 
prehensions  alive,  with  a  view  to  destroy  the  overween 
ing  confidence  with  which  they  had  arrived  on  our  shores, 
and  to  compel  them  to  act  for  a  time  upon  the  defensive. 
To  effect  this,  General  Coffee,  with  his  brigade,  was 
ordered  down  on  the  morning  of  the  24th,  to  unite  with 
Colonel  Hinds,  and  make  a  stiow  in  the  rear  of  Lacoste's 
plantation.  The  enemy  being  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
panic  produced  by  the  assault  of  the  preceding  evening, 
believed  it  was  in  contemplation  to  urge  another  attack, 
and  immediately  formed  themselves  to  repel  it ;  but  Coffee, 
having  succeeded  in  recovering  some  of  his  horses,  which 
were  wandering  along  the  margin  of  the  swamp,  and  in 
regaining  part  of  the  clothing  that  his  troops  had  lost  the 
night  before,  returned  to  the  line,  leaving  them  to  con 
jecture  the  object  of  his  movement. 

The  scanty  supply  of  clothes  and  blankets  that  re 
mained  to  the  soldiers,  from  their  long  and  exposed 
marches,  had  been  left  where  they  dismounted  to  meet 
the  enemy.  Their  numbers  were  too  limited,  and  the 
strength  of  their  opponents  too  well  ascertained,  for  any 
part  of  their  forces  to  remain  and  take  care  of  what  was 
left  behind ;  it  was  so  essential  to  hasten  on  and  reach 
their  destination,  that  they  might  be  ready  to  act  when 
the  signal  was  given  from  the  Caroline,  that  no  time  was 
afforded  them  to  secure  their  horses,  which  were  turned 
loose,  and  their  recovery  trusted  entirely  to  chance.  Al 


CONDITION   OF    THE    AMERICAN   TROOPS.  119 

though  many  were  regained,  many  were  lost ;  while  most 
of  the  men  remained  with  but  a  single  suit,  to  encounter 
in  the  open  field,  and  in  swamps  covered  with  water,  the 
hardships  of  a  camp,  and  the  severity  of  winter.  It  is  a 
circumstance  which  entitles  them  to  much  credit,  that 
under  privations  so  severely  oppressive,  complaints  or 
murmurs  were  never  heard.  This  state  of  things  fortu- 
ateiy  was  not  of  long  continuance.  The  story  of  their 
ufferinofs  and  misfortunes  was  no  sooner  known,  than  the 
^egislature  appropriated  a  sum  of  money  for  their  relief, 
which  was  greatly  increased  by  subscriptions  in  the  city 
and  neighborhood.  Materials  having  been  purchased,  the 
ladies,  with  that  Christian  charity  and  warmth  of  heart 
characteristic  of  their  sex,  at  once  exerted  themselves  in 
supplying  their  wants  ;  all  their  industry  was  called  into 
action,  and  in  a  little  time  the  suffering  soldiers  were  re 
lieved.  Such  generous  conduct,  in  extending  assistance, 
at  a  moment  when  it  was  so  much  needed,  while  it  con 
ferred  on  those  females  the  highest  honor,  could  not  fail 
to  nerve  the  arm  of  the  brave  soldier  with  new  zeal  for  the 
defence  of  his  fair  benefactors.  This  distinguished  mark 
of  their  patriotism  and  benevolence  is  still  remembered ; 
and  often,  as  these  valiant  men  are  heard  to  recount  the 
dangers  they  have  passed,  and  with  peculiar  pride  to 
dwell  on  the  mingled  honors  and  hardships  of  the  cam 
paign,  they  breathe  a  sentiment  of  gratitude  for  those  who 
conferred  upon  them  such  distinguished  marks  of  their 
kindness,  and  who  by  their  timely  interference  alleviated 
their  misfortunes  and  their  sufferings. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  keep 
up  a  show  of  resistance,  detachments  of  light  troops  were 
occasionally  kept  in  front  of  their  line,  assailing  and  ha 
rassing  their  advanced  posts,  whenever  an  opportunity 
was  offered  for  acting  to  advantage.  Every  moment  that 
couid  be  gained,  and  every  delay  that  could  hinder  or  retard 
the  enemy's  attempts  to  reach  the  city,  was  of  the  utmost 
importance.  The  works  were  rapidly  progressing,  arid 
hourly  increasing  in  strength.  The  militia  of  the  state 
were  every  day  arriving,  and  every  day  the  prospeci  of 
successful  opposition  became  brighter  and  more  auspicious. 


120  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

The  enemy  still  remained  at  their  first  encampment ; 
but  that  every  thing  might  be  in  readiness  to  repel  an 
assault,  when  attempted,  the  most  active  preparations  were 
made  in  the  American  camp.  The  canal  covering  the 
front  of  the  line  was  deepened  and  widened,  and  a  strong 
mud  wall  formed  of  the  earth  that  had  been  originally 
thrown  out.  To  prevent  any  approach  until  his  system 
of  defence  should  be  in  a  state  of  greater  forwardness, 
Jackson  ordered  the  levee  to  be  cut  about  a  hundred  yards 
below  the  point  he  had  occupied.  The  river  being  very 
high,  a  broad  stream  of  water  passed  rapidly  through  the 
plain,  and  covered  it  to  the  depth  of  thirty  or  forty  inches 
which  prevented  the  march  of  troops  on  foot.  Embra 
sures  were  formed,  and  two  pieces  of  artillery,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Spotts,  were  placed  in  a  position 
to  rake  the  road  leading  up  the  levee,  early  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  24th  of  December. 

General  Jackson  was  under  the  constant  apprehension 
lest,  in  spite  of  his  exertions  below,  the  city  might  be 
reached  and  destroyed  through  some  other  route.  His 
fears  were  increased  on  the  24th,  by  a  report  that  a  strong 
force  had  arrived  ;  debarked  at  the  head  of  Lake  Borgne  ; 
and  compelled  an  abandonment  of  the  defence  at  Chef 
Menteur.  This,  however,  proved  to  be  unfounded  :  the 
enemy  had  not  appeared  in  that  direction,  nor  had  the 
officer  to  whom  the  command  of  this  important  fort  was 
intrusted,  forgotten  his  duty  or  forsaken  his  post.  Acting 
upon  the  statement  that  Major  Lacoste  had  retired  from 
the  fort,  and  fallen  back  on  Bayou  St.  John,  and  incensed 
that  orders,  which,  from  their  importance,  should  have 
been  faithfully  executed,  had  been  thus  lightly  regarded, 
Jackson  hastened  to  inform  him  what  he  had  understood, 
and  to  forbid  his  leaving  his  position.  "The  battery  I 
have  placed  under  your  command,"  said  the  general, 
"  must  be  defended  at  all  hazards.  In  you,  and  the  valor 
of  your  troops,  I  repose  every  confidence — let  me  not  be 
deceived.  With  us  every  thing  goes  on  well ;  the  enemy 
has  not  yet  advanced.  Our  troops  have  covered  them 
selves  with  glory :  it  is  a  noble  example,  and  worthy  to 
be  followed  by  all.  Maintain  your  post,  nor  ever  think 


ORDERS    TO    MAJOR    LACOSTE.  121 

of  retreating."  To  give  additional  strength  to  a  place 
deemed  so  important,  and  to  inspire  confidence  and  insure 
safety,  Colonel  Dyer,  with  two  hundred  men,  was  ordered 
there,  to  assist  in  its  defence,  and  act  as  videttes,  in  ad 
vance  of  the  occupied  points. 

General  Morgan,  who  commanded  the  fort  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  river,  was  instructed  to  proceed  as  near  the 
enemy's  camp  as  prudence  and  safety  would  permit,  and 
by  destroying  the  levee,  to  let  in  the  waters  of  the  Missis 
sippi  between  them.  The  execution  of  this  order,  and  a 
similar  one  previously  made  below  the  line  of  defence, 
entirely  insulated  the  enemy,  and  prevented  his  march 
against  either  place.  On  the  2b'th,  the  commanding  ge 
neral,  fearing  for  the  situation  of  Morgan,  who,  as  the 
British  occupied  the  intermediate  ground,  was  entirely 
detached  from  his  camp,  directed  him  to  abandon  the  post, 
carry  off  such  of  the  cannon  as  might  be  wanted,  and 
throw  the  remainder  into  the  river,  where  they  could  be 
again  recovered  when  the  waters  receded  ;  and  after  doing 
this,  to  retire  across  the  river,  and  assume  a  position  on. 
the  right  bank,  nearly  opposite  to  his  line,  and  fortify  it. 
This  movement  was  rendered  necessary  by  the  relative 
disposition  of  the  two  armies. 

From  the  intelligence  obtained  through  deserters  and 
prisoners,  it  was  evident  that  the  British  fleet  would  make 
an  effort  to  ascend  the  river,  and  co-operate  with  the  troops 
already  landed.  Lest  this,  or  a  diversion  in  a  different 
quarter,  might  be  attempted,  exertions  were  made  to  offer 
resistance  at  all  points,  and  to  interpose  such  defences  on 
the  Mississippi  as  might  secure  protection.  The  forts  on 
the  river,  being  well  supported  with  brave  men  and  heavy 
pieces  of  artillery,  might,  it  was  thought,  have  the  effect 
to  deter  their  shipping  from  venturing  in  that  direction, 
and  dispose  them  to  seek  some  safer  route,  if  any  could 
be  discovered.  Pass  Barrataria  was  best  calculated  for 
this  purpose,  and  it  \vas  expected  that  the  effort  would,  in 
all  probability,  be  made  in  that  quarter.  The  difficulty  of 
ascending  the  Mississippi,  from  the  rapidity  of  the  cur 
rent,  its  winding  course,  and  the  ample  protection  already 
given  at  forts  St.  Philip  and  Bourbon,  were  circumstances 


122  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

to  which  the  British  were  not  strangers  :  nor  was  it  to  be 
expected  that,  with  a  knowledge  of  them,  they  would 
venture  the  success  of  an  enterprise  on  which  so  much 
depended.  It  was  a  more  rational  conjecture  that  they 
would  seek  a  passage  through  Earrataria,  proceed  up  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  gain  a  position  from  which, 
by  co-operating  with  the  forces  on  the  east  side,  they  might 
drive  the  Americans  from  the  line  they  had  formed,  and 
succeed  in  the  accomplishment  of  their  designs.  Major 
Reynolds  was  accordingly  ordered  thither,  with  instruc 
tions  to  place  the  bayous  emptying  through  this  pass  in 
the  best  possible  state  of  defence — to  occupy  and  strength 
en  the  island — to  mount  sufficient  ordnance,  and  draw  a 
chain  within  cannon-shot  across  the  channel.  Lafitte, 
who  had  previously  been  promised  a  pardon  for  the  out 
rages  committed  against  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
who  had  already  shown  a  lively  zeal  on  behalf  of  his 
adopted  country,  was  also  despatched  with  Reynolds. 
He  was  selected,  because  no  doubt  was  entertained  of  his 
fidelity,  and  because  his  knowledge  of  the  topography  and 
precise  situation  of  this  section  of  the  state  was  remark 
ably  correct :  it  was  the  point  wh.ere  he  had  constantly 
rendezvoused,  while  cruising  against  the  merchant  vessels 
of  Spain,  under  a  commission  obtained  at  Carthagena,  and 
where  he  had  become  perfectly  acquainted  with  every 
inlet  and  entrance  to  the  gulf,  through  which  a  passage 
could  be  effected. 

With  these  arrangements,  all  being  anxiously  alive  to  the 
interests  of  the  country,  and  disposed  to  protect  it,  there 
was  little  room  to  apprehend  or  fear  disaster.  To  use  the 
general's  own  expression  on  another  occasion  :  "  the  surest 
defence,  and  one  which  seldom  failed  of  success,  was  a 
rampart  of  high-minded  and  brave  men."  That  there 
were  some  of  this  description  with  him,  on  whom  he 
could  safely  rely  in  moments  of  extreme  peril,  he  well 
knew;  but  that  there  were  many  strangers  to  him  and  to 
danger,  who  had  never  been  called  to  act  in  situations 
where  the  horrors  of  the  field  of  battle  appal  and  unnerve 
even  the  most  resolute,  was  equally  certain ;  whether 
they  would  support  the  cause  in  which  they  had  em- 


MOVEMENTS    OF    THE    BRITISH.  123 

barked,  with  manly  firmness,  and  realize  his  anxious 
wishes  on  the  subject,  could  be  known  only  in  the  hour 
of  conflict  and  trial. 

As  yet,  the  enemy  were  not  informed  of  the  position  of 
Jackson.  What  was  his  situation — what  was  intended — 
whether  offensive  or  defensive  operations  would  be  pur 
sued,  were  matters  in  regard  to  which  they  possessed  no 
correct  knowledge,  nor  could  it  be  obtained  ;  still  their 
exertions  were  unremitting  to  have  all  things  prepared, 
and  in  readiness  to  urge  their  designs,  whenever  the  mo 
ment  for  action  should  arrive.  They  had  been  constantly 
engaged  since  their  landing,  in  procuring  from  their  ship 
ping  every  thing  necessary  to  ulterior  operations.  A  com 
plete  command  on  the  lakes,  and  possession  of  a  point  on 
the  margin,  presented  an  uninterrupted  ingress  and  egress, 
and  afforded  the  opportunity  of  conveying  whatever  was 
wanted,  in  perfect  safety,  to  their  camp.  The  height  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  discharge  of  water  through  the 
openings  made  in  the  levee,  had  given  an  increased 
depth  to  the  canal,  from  which  they  had  first  debarked ; 
they  were  enabled  to  advance  their  boats  much  farther  in 
the  direction  of  their  encampment,  and  to  bring  up,  with 
greater  convenience,  their  artillery,  bombs,  and  munitions. 
They  were  thus  engaged  during  the  first  three  days  after 
their  arrival,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  a  bat 
tery  was  discovered  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  had 
been  erected  during  the  preceding  night,  and  on  which 
were  mounted  several  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance  ;  from 
this  position  a  fire  was  opened  on  the  Caroline  schooner, 
lying  under  the  opposite  shore. 

After  the  battle  of  the  23d,  in  which  this  vessel  ren 
dered  such  effectual  assistance,  she  passed  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  where  she  had  since  lain.  Her  services 
were  too  highly  appreciated  not  to  be  again  desired,  should 
the  enemy  endeavor  to  advance.  Her  present  situation 
was  considered  an  unsafe  one,  but  several  vain  attempts 
had  been  made  to  advance  her  higher  up  the  stream.  No 
favorable  breeze  had  yet  arisen  to  aid  her  in  stemming 
the  current ;  and  towing,  and  other  remedies,  had  been 
already  resorted  to,  but  without  success.  Her  safety  might 


134  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

have  been  ensured  by  floating  her  down  the  river,  and 
placing  her  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  the  fort ;  but  it 
was  preferred,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  to  risk  her  where 
she  was.  Commodore  Patterson  left  her  on  the  26th,  by 
the  order  of  the  commanding  general,  when  Captain  Henly 
made  a  further  but  ineffectual  effort  to  force  her  up  the 
current,  near  to  the  line,  for  the  double  purpose  of  its  de 
fence  and  for  her  own  safety. 

This  attempt  being  discovered  at  daylight  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  27th,  a  battery,  mounting  five  guns,  opened 
upon  her,  discharging  bombs  and  red-hot  shot ;  it  was 
spiritedly  answered,  but  without  affecting  the  battery ; 
there  being  but  a  long  twelve-pounder  that  was  of  service. 
The  second  fire  lodged  a  hot  shot  in  the  hold,  directly 
under  her  cables,  whence  it  could  not  be  removed,  and 
where  it  immediately  communicated  fire  to  the  schooner. 
The  shot  from  the  battery  were  constantly  taking  effect, 
firing  her  in  different  places,  and  otherwise  producing 
material  injury  ;  while  the  blaze,  already  kindled  undei 
her  cables,  was  rapidly  extending  its  ravages.  A  well 
grounded  apprehension  of  her  commander,  that  she  could 
be  no  longer  defended, — the  flames  bursting  forth  in  dif 
ferent  parts,  and  fast  increasing — induced  a  fear  lest  the 
magazine  should  be  soon  reached,  and  every  thing  de 
stroyed.  One  of  his  crew  being  killed,  and  six  Bounded, 
and  not  a  glimmering  of  hope  entertained  that  she  could 
be  preserved,  orders  were  given  to  abandon  her.  The 
crew  reached  the  shore  in  safety,  and  in  a  short  time  after 
wards  she  blew  up. 

Although  thus  unexpectedly  deprived  of  so  material  a 
dependence  for  successful  defence,  an  opportunity  was 
soon  presented  of  using  her  brave  crew  to  advantage. 
Gathering  confidence  from  what  had  just  been  effected, 
the  enemy  left  their  encampment,  and  moved  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  American  line.  Their  numbers  had  been  in 
creased,  and  Major-General  Sir  Edward  Packenham  now 
commanded  in  person.  Early  on  the  2hth,  his  columns  com 
menced  their  advance  to  storm  the  works.  At  the  distance 
of  half  a  mile,  their  heavy  artillery  opened,  and  quantities 
of  bombs,  balls,  and  Congreve  rockets  were  discharged.  It 


ATTACK  ON  THE" TWENTY-EIGHTH.  125 

was  a  scene  of  terror  and  alarm,  which  they  had  probably 
calculated  would  excite  a  panic  in  the  minus  of  the  ra\v 
troops  of  our  army,  and  compel  them  to  sarrender  at  dis 
cretion,  or  abandon  their  strong-hold.  But  our  soldiers 
had  afforded  abundant  proof,  that,  whether  disciplined  or 
net,  they  well  knew  how  to  defend  the  honor  and  interests 
of  their  country  ;  and  had  sufficient  valor  not  to  be  alarmed 
at  the  reality — still  less  at  the  semblance  of  danger.  Far 
from  exciting  their  apprehensions,  and  driving  them  from 
their  ground,  their  firmness  remained  unchanged  ;  and 
they  still  manifested  a  determination  not  to  tarnish  a  re 
putation  they  had  hardly  earned,  and  which  had  become 
too  dear,  from  the  difficulties  and  dangers  they  had  passed 
to  acquire  it,  to  be  tamely  surrendered.  The  Congreve 
rockets,  though  an  instrument  of  destruction  to  which 
the  American  troops  had  been  hitherto  strangers,  excited 
no  other  feeling  than  that  which  novelty  inspires.  At 
the  moment,  therefore,  that  the  British,  in  different  co 
lumns,  were  moving  up,  in  all  the  pomp  and  parade  of 
battle,  preceded  by  the  insignia  of  terror  more  than  dan 
ger,  and  expecting  to  behold  their  "  Yankee  foes"  retire 
and  flee  before  them,  the  batteries  opened,  and  checked 
their  advance. 

In  addition  to  the  two  pieces  of  cannon  mounted  on  the 
works  on  the  24th,  three  others,  of  heavy  calibre,  obtained 
from  the  navy  department,  had  been  formed  along  the  line ; 
these  opening  on  the  enemy,  checked  their  progress,  and 
disclosed  to  them  the  hazard  of  their  project.  Lieutenants 
Crawley  and  Norris  volunteered,  and  with  the  crew  of  the 
Caroline  rendered  important  services,  and  maintained  at 
the  guns  they  commanded  that  firmness  and  decision  for 
which,  on  previous  occasions,  they  had  been  so  highly 
distinguished.  They  had  been  selected  by  the  general 
because  of  their  superior  knowledge  in  gunnery  ;  and  on 
this  occasion  gave  a  further  evidence  of  their  skill  and 
judgment,  and  of  a  disposition  to  act  in  any  situation 
where  they  could  be  serviceable.  The  line,  which,  from 
the  labors  bestowed  on  it,  was  daily  strengthening,  was 
not  yet  in  a  situation  to  offer  effectual  resistance ;  this  de- 


126  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

ficiency,  however,  was  remedied  by  the  brave  men  who 
were  formed  in  its  rear. 

The  greatest  injury  was  effected  from  the  river.  Lieu 
tenant  Thompson,  who  commanded  the  Louisiana  sloop, 
which  lay  nearly  opposite  the  line  of  defence,  no  sooner 
discovered  the  columns  approaching,  than,  warping  her 
around,  he  brought  her  starboard  guns  to  bear,  and  pro 
duced  such  an  effect  as  forced  them  to  retreat;  but  from 
their  heavy  artillery,  the  enemy  maintained  the  conflict 
with  great  spirit,  constantly  discharging  their  bombs  and 
rockets  for  seven  hours,  when,  unable  to  make  a  breach, 
or  silence  the  fire  from  the  sloop,  they  abandoned  a  contest 
where  few.  advantages  seemed  to  be  presented.  The 
crew  of  this  vessel  was  composed  of  new  recruits,  and  of 
discordant  materials — of  soldiers,  citizens,  and  seamen ; 
yet,  by  the  activity  of  their  commander,  they  were  so 
well  perfected  in  their  duty,  that  they  already  managed 
their  guns  with  the  greatest  precision  and  certainty  of 
effect ;  and  by  three  o'clock  in  the  evening,  with  the  aid 
of  the  land  batteries,  had  completely  silenced  and  driven 
back  the  enemy.  Emboldened  by  the  effect  produced  the 
day  before,  on  the  Caroline,  the  furnaces  of  the  enemy 
were  put  in  operation,  and  numbers  of  hot  shot  thrown 
from  a  heavy  piece  which  was  placed  behind  and  pro 
tected  by  the  levee.  An  attempt  was  now  made  to  carry 
it  off,  when  their  former  protection  being  taken  away, 
those  in  the  direction  of  it  were  fairly  exposed  to  the  Ame 
rican  fire,  and  suffered  greatly.  In  their  endeavors  to  re 
move  it,  "I  saw,"  says  Commodore  Patterson,  "distinct 
ly,  with  the  aid  of  a  glass,  several  balls  strike  in  the  midst 
of  the  men  who  were  employed  in  dragging  it  away." 
In  this  engagement  little  or  no  injury  was  received.  The 
Louisiana  sloop,  against  which  the  most  violent  exertions 
were  made,  had  but  a  single  man  wounded,  by  the  fragments 
of  a  shell  which  burst  over  her  deck.  Her  entire  loss  did 
not  exceed  nine  killed,  and  eight  or  ten  wounded.  The 
enemy  being  more  exposed,  acting  in  the  open  field,  and 
in  range  of  her  guns,  suffered,  from  information  after 
wards  procured,  considerable  injury  ;  at  least  one  hundred 
and  twenty  were  killed  and  wounded. 


DEATH    OF    COLONEL    HENDERSON.  127 

Among  the  Americans  killed  was  Colonel  James  Hen 
derson,  of  the  Tennessee  militia.  An  advance  party  of  the 
British  had  taken  post,  during  the  action,  behind  a  fence  that 
ran  obliquely  to,  and  not  very  remote  from  our  line.  Hen 
derson,  with  a  detachment  of  two  hundred  men,  was  sent 
out  by  General  Carroll  to  drive  them  from  a  position  whence 
they  were  effecting  some  injury,  and  greatly  annoying 
his  troops.  Had  he  advanced  in  the  manner  directed, 
he  would  have  been  less  exposed,  and  enabled  more  effec 
tually  to  have  secured  the  object  intended  :  but  misunder 
standing  the  order,  he  proceeded  in  a  different  route,  and 
tell  a  victim  to  his  error.  Instead  of  marching  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  wood,  and  turning  the  enemy,  which  might 
have  cut  off  their  retreat,  he  proceeded  in  front,  towards 
the  river,  leaving  them  in  rear  of  the  fence,  and  himself 
and  his  detachment  open  and  exposed.  His  mistake  be 
ing  perceived  from  the  line,  he  was  called  by  the  adjutant- 
general,  and  directed  to  return ;  but  the  noise  of  the  wa 
ter,  through  which  they  were  wading,  prevented  any 
communication.  Having  reached  a  knoll  of  dry  ground, 
he  formed,  and  attempted  the  execution  of  his  order ;  but 
soon  fell  from  a  wound  in  the  head.  Deprived  of  their 
commander,  and  perceiving  their  situation  hazardous  and 
untenable,  the  detachment  retreated  to  the  line,  with  the 
loss  of  their  colonel  and  five  men. 

While  this  advance  was  made,  a  column  of  the  enemy 
was  threatening  an  attack  on  the  extreme  left.  To  frustrate 
the  attempt,  General  Coffee  was  ordered  with  his  riflemen 
to  hasten  through  the  woods  and  check  their  approach. 
The  enemy,  although  greatly  superior  to  him  in  numbers, 
no  sooner  discovered  his  movement,  than  they  retired,  and 
abandoned  the  attack  they  had  previously  meditated. 

The  evident  disaffection  in  New  Orleans,  and  the  pre- 

ence  of  an  enemy  in  front,  were  circumstances  well  cal- 

ailated  to  excite  unpleasant  forebodings.    General  Jackson 

believed  it  necessary  and  essential  to  his  security,  while 

contending  with  avowed  foes,  not  to  be  wholly  inattentive 

to  dangers  lurking  at  home  ;  but,  by  guarding  vigilantly, 

to  be  able  to  suppress  any  treasonable,  purpose  the  moment 

it  should  be  developed,  and  before  it  should  have  time  to 

6* 


128  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

mature.  Previously,  therefore,  to  departing  from  the  city, 
on  the  evening  of  the  23d,  he  had  ordered  Major  Butler, 
his  aid,  to  remain  with  the  guards,  and  be  careful  that 
nothing  transpired  in  his  absence  calculated  to  operate  in 
juriously.  His  fears  that  there  were  many  of  the  inha 
bitants  who  felt  no  attachment  to  the  government,  and 
would  not  scruple  to  surrender  it  whenever  it  should  be 
come  necessary  to  their  interest,  has  been  already  noticed. 
Subsequent  circumstances  evinced  that  there  was  no  mis 
take  in  this  belief,  and  showed  that  to  his  assiduity  and 
energy  it  is  to  be  ascribed  that  the  country  was  protected 
and  saved.  It  is  a  fact,  which  was  disclosed  on  making 
an  exchange  of  prisoners,  that,  despite  all  the  efforts 
made  to  prevent  it,  the  enemy  were  daily  arid  constantly 
apprised  of  every  thing  that  transpired  in  the  camp. 
Every  arrangement,  and  every  change  of  position,  was 
immediately  communicated.  On  the  day  subsequent  to  a 
contest  on  the  lakes  on  the  14th  of  December,  Mr.  Shields, 
a  purser  in  the  navy,  was  despatched  with  a  flag,  to  Cat 
island,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Murrell,  for  the  purpose  of 
alleviating  the  situation  of  the  wounded,  and  to  effect  a 
negotiation,  by  which  they  should  be  liberated  on  parol. 
We  are  not  aware  that  such  an  application  militated 
against  the  usages  and  customs  of  war :  if  not,  the  flag 
of  truce  should  have  been  respected  ;  nor  ought  its  bearer 
to  have  been  detained  as  a  prisoner.  Admiral  Cochrane 
pretended  to  be  fearful  that  it  was  a  trick  designed  to 
ascertain  his  strength  and  situation,  but  this  was  very  far 
from  presenting  any  sufficient  excuse  for  so  wanton  an 
outrage  on  propriety  and  the  rules  of  war.  If,  indeed, 
such  a  result  was  apprehended,  could  not  the  messengers 
have  been  met  at  a  distance  from  the  fleet,  and  ordered 
back  without  a  near  approach  ?  Had  this  been  done,  no 
information  could  have  been  gained,  and  the  object  de 
signed  to  be  secured  by  the  detention  would  have  been 
answered,  without  infringing  that  amicable  intercourse 
between  contending  armies,  which,  when  violated  or  dis 
regarded,  opens  a  door  to  brutal  and  savage  warfare. 
When  it  was  found  in  the  American  camp,  that  they  did 
not  return,  the  cause  of  it  was  at  once  correctly  divined. 


TRAITORS    IN   THE    CITY.  129 

The  British  admiral  was  very  solicitous,  and  resorted 
to  various  means,  to  obtain  from  these  gentlemen  informa 
tion  of  the  strength,  condition,  and  disposition  of  the  Ame 
rican  army  ;  but  so  cautious  a  reserve  was  maintained, 
that  nothing  could  be  elicited.  Shields  was  perceived  to 
be  quite  deaf,  and  calculating  on'some  advantage  to  be  de 
rived  from  this  circumstance,  he  and  the  doctor  were 
placed  at  night  in  the  green-room,  where  any  conversa 
tion  which  occurred  between  them  could  readily  be  heard. 
Suspecting,  perhaps,  something  of  the  kind,  after  having 
retired,  they  began  to  speak  of  their  situation — the  cir 
cumstance  of  their  being  detained,  and  of  the  prudent 
caution  with  which  they  had  guarded  themselves  against 
communicating  any  information  to  the  British  admiral. 
But,  continued  Shields,  how  greatly  these  gentlemen  will 
be  disappointed  in  their  expectations,  for  Jackson,  with 
the  twenty  thousand  troops  he  now  has,  and  the  reinforce 
ments  from  Kentucky,  which  must  speedily  reach  him, 
will  be  able  to  destroy  any  force  that  can  be  landed  from 
these  ships.  Every  word  was  heard  and  treasured,  and 
not  supposing  there  was  any  design,  or  that  he  presumed 
himself  overheard,  they  were  beguiled  by  it,  and  at  once 
concluded  our  force  to  be  as  great  as  it  was  represented ; 
and  hence,  no  doubt,  arose  the  reason  of  that  prudent  care 
and  caution  with  which  the  enemy  afterwards  proceeded  ; 
for  "nothing,"  remarked  a  British  officer,  at  the  close  of 
the  invasion,  "was  kept  a  secret  from  us,  except  your 
numbers ;  this,  although  diligently  sought  after,  could 
never  be  procured." 

Between  the  23d,  and  the  attempt  on  the  28th,  to  carry 
the  line,  Major  Butler,  who  remained  at  his  post  in  the 
city,  was  applied  to  by  Mr.  Skipwith,  at  that  time  Speaker 
of  the  Senate,  to  ascertain  the  commanding  general's 
views,  provided  he  should  be  driven  from  his  line  of  en 
campment,  and  compelled  to  retreat  through  the  city ; 
and  the  question  was  asked,  whether,  in  that  event,  he 
would  destroy  it  ?  It  was,  indeed,  a  curious  inquiry  from 
one  who,  having  spent  his  life  in  serving  his  country  in 
different  capacities,  might  better  have  understood  the  duty 
of  a  subordinate  officer ;  and  that  even,  if,  from  his  situa- 


130  LIFE    OF    JACKSON 

tion,  Major  Butler  had  so  far  acquired  the  confidence  of 
his  general  as  to  have  become  acquainted  with  his  views 
and  designs,  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  divulge  them,  with 
out  destroying  confidence  and  acting  criminally.  Upon 
asking  the  cause  of  the  inquiry,  Mr.  Skipwith  replied,  it 
was  rumored,  and  so  understood,  that  if  driven  from  his 
position,  and  made  to  retreat  upon  the  city,  General  Jack 
son  had  it  in  contemplation  to  lay  it  in  ruins ;  the  legis 
lature,  he  said,  desired  information  on  this  subject,  that  if 
such  were  his  intentions,  they  might,  by  offering  terms  of 
capitulation  to  the  enemy,  avert  so  serious  a  calamity. 
That  a  sentiment  having  for  its  object  a  surrender  of  the 
city,  should  be  entertained  by  this  body,  was  scarcely 
credible ;  yet  a  few  days  made  it  still  more  apparent,  and 
showed  that  they  were  already  devising  plans  to  insure 
the  safety  of  themselves  and  property,  even  at  any  sacri 
fice.  While  the  general  was  hastening  along  the  line,  he 
was  hailed  by  Mr.  Duncan,  one  of  his  volunteer  aids,  and 
informed  that  it  was  already  agitated  in  secret,  by  the 
members  of  the  legislature,  to  offer  terms  of  capitulation 
to  the  enemy,  and  proffer  a  surrender,  and  that  Governor 
Claiborne  awaited  his  orders  on  the  subject.  Critical  as 
the  time  was,  the  safety  or  fall  of  the  city  being  still  un 
certain,  it  was  plainly  to  be  perceived,  that,  although  with 
a  strong  army  before  them,  no  such  resolution  could  be 
carried  into  effect,  yet  it  might  be  productive  of  evil,  and 
in  the  end  bring  about  the  most  fatal  consequences.  Even 
the  disclosure  of  such  a  wish  on  the  part  of  the  legislature 
might  create  parties,  excite  opposition  in  the  army,  and 
inspire  the  enemy  with  renewed  confidence.  The  Ten 
nessee  forces,  and  Mississippi  volunteers,  could  not  be  af 
fected  by  the  measure ;  but  it  might  detach  the  Louisiana 
militia,  and  even  extend  itself  to  the  ranks  of  the  regular 
troops.  Jackson  was  greatly  incensed,  that  those  whose 
safety  he  had  so  much  at  heart  should  be  seeking,  under 
the  authority  of  office,  to  mar  his  best  exertions.  He  was 
too  warmly  pressed  at  the  moment  to  give  it  the  attention 
its  importance  merited ;  but  availing  himself  of  the  first 
leisure  moment,  he  apprized  Governor  Claiborne  of  what 
he  had  heard  ; — ordered  him  to  watch  the  conduct  of  the 


THE    LOUISIANA    LEGISLATURE.  131 

legislature  closely,  and  the  moment  a  project  of  offering  a 
capitulation  to  the  enemy  should  be  fully  disclosed,  to 
place  a  guard  at  the  door  and  confine  them  to  their  cham 
ber.  The  governor,  in  his  zeal  to  execute  the  command, 
and  from  a  fear  of  the  consequences  involved  in  such  con 
duct,  construed  the  order  to  be  imperative,  and  placing  an 
armed  force  at  the  door  of  the  capitol,  prevented  the  mem 
bers  from  convening,  and  their  schemes  from  maturing. 

The  purport  of  this  order  was  either  essentially  mis 
conceived  by  the  governor;  or,  with  a  view  to  avoid  sub 
sequent  inconveniences  and  complaints,  was  designedly 
mistaken.  Jackson's  object  was  not  to  restrain  the  legis 
lature  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties  ;  for  although 
he  thought  that  such  a  moment,  when  the  sound  of  the 
cannon  was  constantly  pealing  in  their  ears,  was  inauspi 
cious  to  wholesome  legislation,  and  that  it  would  have 
better  comported  with  the  state  of  the  times  for  them  to 
abandon  their  civil  duties  and  appear  in  the  field,  yet  it 
was  a  matter  indelicate  to  be  proposed  :  and  it  was  hence 
preferred,  that  they  should  adopt  whatever  course  might 
be  suggested  by  their  own  notions  of  propriety.  This 
opinion  would  have  been  still  adhered  to ;  but  when, 
through  the  communication  of  Mr.  Duncan,  they  were 
represented  as  entertaining  opinions  and  schemes  adverse 
to  the  general  interest  and  safety  of  the  country,  the  ne 
cessity  of  a  new  and  different  course  of  conduct  was  at 
once  obvious.  But  he  did  not  order  Governor  Claiborne 
to  interfere  with  or  prevent  them  from  proceeding  with 
their  duties  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  instructed,  as  soon 
as  any  thing  hostile  to  the  general  cause  should  be  ascer 
tained,  to  place  a  guard  at  the  door,  and  keep  the  mem 
bers  to  their  post  and  to  their  duty.  "  My  object  in  this," 
remarked  the  general,  "  was,  that  they  would  then  be 
able  to  proceed  with  their  business  without  producing  the 
slightest  injury  :  whatever  schemes  they  might  entertain 
would  have  remained  with  themselves,  without  the  power 
of  circulating  them  to  the  prejudice  of  any  other  interest 
than  their  own.  I  had  intended  to  have  had  them  well 
treated  and  kindly  dealt  by ;  and  thus  abstracted  from 
every  thing  passing  without  doors,  a  better  opportunity 


132  LIFE  or  JACKSON. 

would  have  been  afforded  them  to  enact  good  and  whole 
some  laws ;  but  Governor  Claiborne  mistook  my  order, 
and  instead  of  shutting  them  in  doors,  contrary  to  my 
wishes  and  expectations  turned  them  out." 

Previous  to  this  occurrence,  Jackson  had  been  waited 
on  by  a  special  committee  of  the  legislature,  to  know  what 
his  course  would  be,  should  necessity  compel  him  to 
abandon  his  position.  "If,"  replied  the  general,  "I 
thought  the  hair  of  my  head  could  divine  what  I  should 
do,  I  would  cut  it  off  forthwith  ;  go  back  with  this  answer; 
say  to  your  honorable  body,  that  if  disaster  does  overtake 
me,  and  the  fate  of  war  drives  me  from  my  line  to  the 
city,  they  may  expect  to  have  a  very  warm  session." 
"And  what  did  you  design  to  do,"  asked  a  friend,  **  pro 
vided  you  had  been  forced  to  retreat?"  "I  should,"  he 
replied,  "  have  retreated  to  the  city,  fired  it,  and  fought 
the  enemy  amid  the  surrounding  flames.  There  were 
with  me  men  of  wealth,  owners  of  considerable  property, 
who,  in  such  an  event,  would  have  been  among  the  fore 
most  to  have  applied  the  torch  to  their  own  buildings ; 
and  what  they  had  left  undone,  I  should  have  completed. 
Nothing  for  the  comfortable  maintenance  of  the  enemy 
would  have  been  left  in  the  rear.  I  would  have  destroyed 
New  Orleans — occupied  a  position  above  on  the  river — 
cut  off  all  supplies,  and  in  this  way  compelled  them  to 
depart  from  the  country." 

We  shall  not  pretend  to  ascribe  this  conduct  of  the  le 
gislature  to  disaffection,  or  to  treasonable  motives.  NP 
doubt  the  impulse  that  produced  it  was  interest — a  prin 
ciple  of  the  human  mind  which  strongly  sways,  and  often 
destroys  its  best  conclusions.  The  disparity  of  the  two 
armies,  in  numbers,  preparation,  and  discipline,  had  ex 
cited  apprehension,  and  destroyed  hope.  If  Jackson  wer 
driven  back,  and  little  else  was  looked  for,  rumor  an 
nounced  his  determination  of  devoting  the  city  to  destruc 
tion  :  but  even  if  such  were  not  his  intention,  the  wrath 
and  vengeance  of  the  enemy  might  be  fairly  calculated  to 
be  in  proportion  to  the  opposition  they  should  receive. 
Although  these  considerations  may  somewhat  palliate, 
they  do  not  justify.  The  government  was  represented  in 


HIS    VIGILANCE.  133 

the  person  of  the  commanding  general,  on  whom  rested 
all  responsibility,  and  whose  voice  on  the  subject  of  re 
sistance  or  capitulation  should  alone  have  been  heard.  la 
the  field  were  persons  who  were  enduring  hardships  and 
straining  every  nerve  for  the  general  safety.  A  few  of 
the  members  of  their  own  body,  too,  were  there  who  did 
not  despond.  Might  not  patriotism,  then,  have  admo 
nished  these  men,  honored  as  they  were  with  the  confi 
dence  of  the  people,  rather  to  have  pursued  a  course 
having  for  its  object  to  keep  up  the  excitement,  than  to 
have  endeavored  to  introduce  fear  and  paralyze  exertion  ? 
Such  conduct,  if  productive  of  nothing  worse,  was  well 
calculated  to  excite  alarm.  If  the  militia,  who  had  been 
hastily  drawn  to  the  camp,  and  who  were  yet  trembling 
for  the  safety  of  their  families,  had  been  told  that  a  few 
private  men  of  standing  in  society  had  expressed  their 
opinions,  and  declared  resistance  useless,  it  would  with 
out  doubt  have  occasioned  serious  apprehensions ;  but  in 
a  much  greater  degree  would  they  be  likely  to  arise, 
when  told  that  the  members  of  the  legislature,  chosen  to 
preside  over  the  safety  and  destinies  of  the  state,  after 
due  deliberation,  had  pronounced  all  attempts  at  success 
ful  opposition  vain  and  ineffectual. 

Here  was  an  additional  reason  why  expedients  should 
be  devised,  and  every  precaution  adopted,  to  prevent  any 
communication  by  which  the  slightest  intelligence  should 
be  had  of  their  situation,  already  indeed  sufficiently  deplor 
able.  Additional  guards  were  posted  along  the  swamp, 
on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  to  arrest  all  intercourse ; 
while  on  the  river,  the  common  highway,  watch  boats 
were  constantly  plying  during  the  night,  in  different  di 
rections,  so  that  a  log  could  scarcely  float  down  the  stream 
unperceived.  Two  flat-bottomed  boats,  on  a  dark  night, 
\vere  turned  adrift  above,  to  ascertain  if  vigilance  were 
preserved,  and  whether  there  would  be  any  possibility  of 
escaping  the  guards,  and  passing  in  safety  to  the  British 
lines.  The  light  boats  discovered  them  on  their  passage, 
and  on  the  alarm  being  given,  they  were  opened  upon  by 
the  Louisiana  sloop,  and  the  batteries  on  the  shore,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  were  sunk.  In  spite,  however,  of  every 


134  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

precaution,  treason  still  discovered  avenues  lL*ough  which 
to  project  and  execute  her  nefarious  plans,  -ind  informa 
tion  was  constantly  afforded  to  the  enemy. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  extent  of  the  inibrmalion  im 
parted  to  the  officers  of  the  British  army,  Charles  K. 
Blanchard,  who  was  on  board  the  fleet,  addics^ed  a  letter 
to  General  Jackson,  in  which  he  gave  the  substance  of  a 
conversation  with  a  quarter-master  of  one  of  the  vessels, 
and  said  that  he  was  told,  "  that  the  commanding  officers 
of  the  British  forces  were  daily  in  the  receipt  of  every  in 
formation  from  the  city  of  New  Orleans  which  they  might 
require,  in  aid  of  their  operations,  for  the  completion  of 
the  objects  of  the  expedition  :  that  they  were  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  situation  of  every  part  of  our  forces, 
the  manner  in  which  the  same  was  situated,  the  number 
of  our  fortifications,  their  strength,  position,  &c.  As  to 
the  battery  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  he  de 
scribed  its  situation,  its  distance  from  the  main  post,  and 
promptly  offered  me  a  plan  of  the  works.  He  further 
more  stated,  that  the  above  information  was  received  from 
seven  or  eight  persons,  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  from 
whom  he  could,  at  any  hour,  procure  every  information 
necessary  to  promote  His  Majesty's  interest." 

Great  inconvenience  was  sustained  for  the  want  of  arms, 
and  much  anxiety  felt,  lest  the  enemy,  through  their  faith 
ful  adherents,  might  on  this  subject  also  obtain  information. 
To  prevent  it  as  far  as  possible,  General  Jackson  endea 
vored  to  conceal  the  strength  and  situation  of  his  army,  by 
suffering  his  reports  to  be  seen  by  none  but  himself  and 
the  adjutant-general.  Many  of  the  troops  in  the  field 
were  supplied  with  common  guns,  which  were  of  little 
service.  The  Kentucky  troops,  who  were  daily  expected, 
were  also  understood  to  be  badly  provided  with  arms 
Believing  that  the  city  might  yet  contain  many  article 
that  would  be  serviceable,  orders  were  issued  to  the  mayor 
of  New  Orleans,  directing  him  diligently  to  inquire  through 
every  store  and  house,  and  take  possession  of  all  the  mus 
kets,  bayonets,  spades,  and  axes,  he  could  find.  He  was 
also  instructed  to  obtain  a  register  of  every  man  in  the 
city  under  the  age  of  fifty,  that  measures  might  be  con 


THE    FIRST    OF    JANUARY.  135 

certed  for  drawing  forth  those  who  had  hitherto  appeared 
backward  in  engaging  in  the  pending  contest. 

Frequent  light  skirmishes  by  advanced  parties,  without 
material  loss  on  either  side,  were  the  only  incidents  that 
took  place  for  several  days.  Colonel  Hinds,  at  the  head 
of  the  Mississippi  dragoons,  on  the  30th  of  December,  was 
ordered  to  dislodge  a  party  of  the  enemy  who,  under  co 
ver  of  a  ditch  that  ran  across  the  plain,  were  annoying  the 
American  fatigue  parties.  In  advancing,  he  was  unex 
pectedly  thrown  into  an  ambuscade,  and  became  exposed 
to  the  fire  of  a  line  which  had  hitherto  been  concealed  and 
unobserved.  His  collected  conduct  and  gallant  deport 
ment  extricated  him  from  the  danger  in  which  he  was 
placed,  and  gained  for  him  and  his  corps  the  approbation 
of  the  commanding  general.  The  enemy,  being  forced 
from  their  position,  retired,  and  the  colonel  returned  to  the 
line  with  the  loss  of  five  of  his  men. 

The  British  were  encamped  two  miles  below  the  Ame 
rican  army,  on  a  perfect  plain,  and  in  full  view.  Although 
foiled  in  their  attempt  to  carry  the  works  by  the  force  of 
their  batteries  on  the  28th,  they  resolved  upon  another 
attack,  which  they  believed  would  be  more  successful 
Presuming  their  failure  to  have  arisen  from  not  having 
sufficiently  strong  batteries  and  heavy  ordnance,  a  more 
enlarged  arrangement  was  resorted  to,  with  a  confidence 
of  silencing  opposition,  and  effecting  such  breaches  in  the 
intrenchment  as  would  enable  their  columns  to  pass,  with 
out  being  exposed  to  any  considerable  hazard.  The  in 
terim  between  the  28th  of  December  and  the  1st  of  Ja 
nuary  was  accordingly  spent  in  preparing  to  execute  their 
designs.  Their  boats  were  despatched  to  the  shipping, 
and  an  additional  supply  of  heavy  cannon  landed  through 
Bayou  Bienvenu,  where  they  had  first  debarked. 

During  the  night  of  the  31st  of  December  they  were 
busily  engaged.  An  impenetrable  fog,  which  was  not 
dispelled  until  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning,  aided  them 
in  the  plans  they  were  projecting,  and  gave  time  to 
complete  their  works.  When  the  mist  disappeared,  se 
veral  heavy  batteries,  at  the  distance  of  six  hundred  yards, 
mounting  eighteen  and  twenty-four  pound  carronades, 


130  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

were  presented  to  view.  No  sooner  was  it  sufficiently 
clear  to  distinguish  objects  at  a  distance,  than  these  were 
opened,  and  a  tremendous  burst  of  artillery  commenced, 
accompanied  with  Congreve  rockets,  that  filled  the  air  in 
all  directions.  Our  troops,  being  protected  by  a  defence, 
which  they  believed  to  be  impregnable,  were  unmoved 
and  undisturbed.  The  British,  through  the  friendly  in 
terference  of  some  disaffected  citizens,  having  been  ap 
prised  of  the  fact  that  the  general  occupied  a  house  at 
small  distance  in  the  rear  of  his  line  of  defence,  directed 
against  it  their  first  and  principal  efforts.  So  great  was 
the  number  of  balls  thrown,  that  in  a  little  while-  its  porti 
coes  were  beaten  down,  and  the  building  made  a  complete 
wreck.  This  dishonorable  attempt  to  destroy  Jackson  was 
unsuccessful ;  as  it  was  a  constant  practice  with  him,  on 
the  first  appearance  of  danger,  not  to  wait  in  his  quarters 
watching  events,  but  instantly  to  proceed  to  the  line,  and 
be  ready  to  form  his  arrangements  as  circumstances  might 
require.  Constantly  in  expectation  of  an  attack,  he  was 
never  absent  from  the  post  of  duty ;  and  he  had  repaired, 
at  the  first  sound  of  the  cannon,  to  aid  in  the  defence,  and 
inspire  his  troops  with  firmness.  The  guns  along  the  Ame 
rican  line  were  opened  to  repel  the  assault,  and  a  constant 
roar  of  cannon,  on  both  sides,  continued  until  nearly  noon  ; 
when,  by  the  superior  skill  of  Jackson's  engineers,  the 
two  batteries  formed  on  the  right,  next  the  woods,  were 
nearly  beaten  down,  and  many  of  the  guns  dismounted, 
broken,  and  rendered  useless.  That  next  the  river  still 
continued  its  fire  until  three  o'clock  ;  when,  perceiving 
all  attempts  to  force  a  breach  ineffectual,  the  enemy  gave 
up  the  contest  and  retired.  Every  act  of  theirs  discovered 
a  strange  delusion,  and  showed  upon  what  wild  and 
fanciful  grounds  all  their  expectations  were  founded. 
That  the  American  troops  were  well  posted,  and  strongly 
defended  by  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance,  mounted  along 
their  line,  was  a  fact  well  known;  yet  a  belief  was  con 
stantly  indulged  that  the  undisciplined  collection  which 
constituted  the  strength  of  our  army,  would  be  able  to  de 
rive  little  benefit  from  such  a  circumstance ;  and  that  ar 
tillery  could  produce  but  slight  advantages  in  the  hands 


FAILURE    OF    THE    ATTACK.  137 

of  persons  who  were  strangers  to  the  manner  of  using  it. 
That  many  who,  from  necessity,  were  called  to  the  direc 
tion  of  the  guns,  were  at  first  entirely  unacquainted  with 
their  management,  is  indeed  true ;  yet  the  accuracy  and 
precision  with  which  they  threw  their  shot,  afforded  con 
vincing  proof,  either  that  they  possessed  the  capacity  of 
becoming  in  a  short  time  well  acquainted  with  the  art  of 
gunnery,  or  that  it  was  a  science  the  acquisition  of  which 
was  not  attended  with  insurmountable  difficulties. 

That  they  would  be  able  to  effect  an  opening,  and  march 
through  the  strong  defence  in  their  front,  was  an  idea  so 
fondly  cherished  by  the  British,  that  an  apprehension  of 
failure  had  scarcely  been  conceived.  So  sanguine  were 
they  in  this  belief,  that  early  in  the  morning  their  soldiers 
were  arranged  along  the  ditches,  in  rear  of  their  batteries, 
prepared  to  advance  to  the  charge  the  moment  a  breach 
could  be  made. 

Perceiving  that  their  attempts  must  fail,  and  that  such 
an  effect  could  not  be  produced  as  would  warrant  their 
advance,  another  expedient  was  resorted  to,  but  with  nc 
better  success.  It  occurred  to  the  British  commander 
tiiat  an  attack  might  be  made  with  advantage,  next  to  the 
woods,  and  a  force  was  accordingly  ordered  to  penetrate 
in  this  direction,  and  turn  the  left  of  our  line,  which  was 
supposed  not  to  extend  farther  than  to  the  margin  of  the 
swamp.  In  this  way  it  was  expected  a  diversion  could 
be  made,  while  the  reserve  columns,  being  in  readiness 
and  waiting,  were  to  press  forward  the  moment  this  object 
could  be  effected.  Here,  too,  disappointment  resulted. 
General  Coffee's  brigade,  being  already  extended  into  the 
swamp,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  an  advancing  party  to 
penetrate,  brought  unexpected  dangers  into  view,  and  oc 
casioned  an  abandonment  of  the  project.  The  genius  and 
foresight  of  Jackson  had  provided  against  this  emergency. 
Although  cutting  the  levee  had  raised  the  waters  in  the 
swamp,  and  increased  the  difficulties  of  keeping  troops 
there,  yet  a  fear  lest  this  pass  might  be  sought  by  the 
enemy,  and  the  rear  of  the  line  thereby  gained,  had  de 
termined  the  general  to  extend  his  defences  in  that  direc 
tion.  This  had  been  intrusted  to  General  Coffee,  and  a 


138  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

more  arduous  duty  could  scarcely  be  imagined.  To  form 
a  breastwork  in  such  a  place  was  attended  with  many 
difficulties  and  considerable  exposure.  A  slight  defence, 
however,  had  been  thrown  up,  and  the  underwood,  for 
thirty  or  forty  yards  in  front,  cut  down,  that  the  riflemen 
stationed  for  its  protection  might  have  a  complete  view  of 
any  force  that  might  attempt  a  passage  through  this  route. 
When  it  is  recollected  that  this  position  was  to  be  main 
tained  night  and  day,  and  that  the  only  opportunity  afforded 
our  troops  for  rest  was  on  logs  and  brush  thrown  together, 
by  which  they  were  raised  above  the  surrounding  water, 
it  may  be  truly  said,  that  it  has  seldom  fallen  to  the  lot  of 
men  to  encounter  greater  hardships  ;  but  accustomed  to 
privation,  and  alive  to  those  feelings  which  a  love  of  coun 
try  enkindles,  they  obeyed  without  complaining,  and  cheer 
fully  kept  their  position  until  all  danger  had  ceased. 
Sensible  of  the  importance  of  the  point  they  defended, 
and  that  it  was  necessary  to  be  maintained,  be  the  sacri 
fice  what  it  might,  they  looked  to  nothing  but  a  zealous 
and  faithful  discharge  of  the  trust  confided  to  them. 

Our  loss  in  this  affair  was  eleven  killed  and  twenty- 
three  wounded  ;  that  of  the  enemy  was  never  correctly 
known.  The  only  certain  information  is  contained  in  a 
communication  of  the  2Sth  of  January,  from  General  Lam 
bert  to  Earl  Bathurst,  in  which  the  casualties  and  losses, 
from  the  1st  to  the  5th,  are  stated  at  seventy-eight.  Many 
allowances  are  to  be  made  for  this  report.  It  was  written 
at  a  time  when,  from  the  numerous  disasters  encountered, 
it  was  not  to  be  presumed  the  general's  mind  was  in  . 
situation  patiently  to  remember  the  facts,  or  minutely  t*. 
detail  them.  From  the  great  precision  of  the  Americar 
fire,  and  the  injury  visibly  sustained  by  their  batteries, 
their  loss  was  no  doubt  considerable.  The  enemy's  heavy 
shot  having  penetrated  Jackson's  intrenchment  in  many 
places,  it  was  discovered  not  to  be  as  strong  as  had  at  first 
been  imagined.  Fatigue  parties  were  again  employed, 
and  its  strength  daily  increased  ;  an  additional  number  ot 
bales  of  cotton  were  taken  to  be  applied  to  strengthening 
and  defending  the  embrasures  along  the  line.  A  French 
man,  whose  property  had  been  seized,  without  his  consent, 


DEFENCE    OF    THE    RIGHT   BANK.  139 

fearful  of  the  injury  it  might  sustain,  proceeded  in  person 
to  General  Jackson  to  reclaim  it,  and  to  demand  its  delivery. 
The  general,  having  heard  his  complaint,  and  ascertained 
from  him  that  he  was  unemployed  in  any  military  service, 
directed  a  musket  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  placing  it  in 
his  hand,  ordered  him  on  the  line,  remarking,  at  the  same 
time,  that  as  he  seemed  to  be  a  man  possessed  of  property, 
he  knew  of  none  who  had  a  better  right  to  fight  and  to 
defend  it. 

The  British  again  retired  to  their  encampment.  It  was 
well  understood  by  Jackson  that  they  were  in  daily  ex 
pectation  of  considerable  reinforcements ;  though  he  rested 
with  confidence  in  the  belief  that  a  few  more  days  would 
also  bring  to  his  assistance  the  troops  from  Kentucky. 
Each  party,  therefore,  was  busily  and  constantly  engaged 
in  preparation,  the  one  towage  a  vigorous  attack,  the  other 
bravely  to  defend,  and  resolutely  to  oppose  it. 

The  position  of  the  American  army  was  in  the  rear  of 
an  intrenchment  formed  of  earth,  and  which  extended  in 
a  straight  line  from  the  river  to  a  considerable  distance  in 
the  swamp.  In  front  was  a  deep  ditch,  which  had  been 
formerly  used  as  a  mill-race.  The  Mississippi  had  re 
ceded  and  left  the  ditch  dry,  next  the  river,  though  in  many 
places  the  water  still  remained.  Along  the  line,  and  at 
unequal  distances,  to  the  centre  of  General  Carroll's  com 
mand,  were  guns  mounted,  of  different  calibre,  from  six  to 
thirty-two  pounders.  Near  the  river,  and  in  advance  of 
the  intrenchment,  was  erected  a  redoubt,  with  embrasures, 
commanding  the  road  along  the  levee,  and  calculated  to 
rake  the  ditch  in  front. 

We  have  heretofore  stated,  that  General  Morgan  was 
ordered,  on  the  24th  of  December,  to  cross  to  the  west  bank 
of  the  Mississippi.  From  an  apprehension  entertained 
that  an  attempt  might  be  made  through  Barrataria,  and 
the  city  reached  from  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  the 
general  had  extended  his  defences  there  likewise :  in  fact, 
unacquainted  with  the  enemy's  views,  not  knowing  the 
number  of  their  troops,  nor  but  that  they  might  have  suffi 
cient  strength  to  make  an  assault  in  different  quarters,  and 
anxiously  solicitous  to  be  prepared  at  all  points,  he  care- 


140  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

fully  divided  his  forces.  His  greatest  fear  was  for  the 
Chef  Menteur  road,  and  hence  his  strongest  defence,  aside 
from  the  principal  encampment,  was  in  that  quarter,  where 
Governor  Claiborne,  at  the  head  of  the  Louisiana  militia, 
was  posted.  The  position  on  the  right  was  formed  on  the 
same  plan  with  the  line  on  the  left,  but  lower  down  thao 
the  latter,  and  extending  to  the  swamp  at  right  angles  tc 
the  river.  At  this  point  General  Morgan  was  stationed. 

To  be  prepared  against  every  possible  contingency  that 
might  arise,  Jackson  had  established  another  line  of  de 
fence,  about  two  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  one  at  present 
occupied,  which  was  intended  as  a  rallying  point  if  he 
should  be  driven  from  his  first  position.  With  the  aid  of 
his  cavalry,  to  give  a  momentary  check  to  the  advance  ®f 
the  enemy,  he  expected  to  be  enabled  to  reach  it  without 
much  injury,  and  be  again  in  a  situation  to  dispute  a 
further  passage  to  the  city,  and  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
enemy.  To  inspirit  his  own  soldiers,  and  to  exhibit  to 
the  enemy  as  great  a  show  as  possible  of  strength  and 
intended  resistance,  his  unarmed  troops,  which  consti 
tuted  no  inconsiderable  number,  were  stationed  here. 
All  intercourse  between  the  lines,  except  by  confidential 
officers,  was  prohibited  ;  and  every  precaution  and  vigi 
lance  employed,  not  only  to  keep  this  want  of  preparation 
concealed  from  the  enemy,  but  even  from  being  known  in 
hi*  own  ranks. 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

or 


ARRIVAL   OF    TROOPS    FROM   KENTUCKY.  141 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1815.  Arrival  of  fresh  troops  from  Kentucky — Preparations  of  both 
armies  for  an  attack — The  disposition  of  Jackson's  force  made 
known  to  the  British  by  a  deserter — Success  of  Colonel  Thornton 
on  the  rig!)t  bank  of  the  river — Eagerness  of  the  American  soldiers 
for  an  engagement — Activity  and  energy  of  Jackson — The  eighth 
of  January— Advance  of  the  British  towards  the  American  in- 
trenchments — Destructive  fire  from  the  fortifications— Repulse  of 
the  British — Death  of  Sir  Edward  Packenham— Terrible  havoc 
made  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy — Bravery  of  Colonel  Rennie — 
Number  of  killed  and  wounded  in  the  battle — Watchword  of  the 
British  army — Generous  benevolence  of  the  American  soldiers — 
An  armistice  proposed  by  General  Lambert  and  accepted,  with 
modifications — Brave  conduct  of  the  American  troops — Want  of 
arms  prevents  Jackson  from  capturing  the  whole  British  army — 
English  version  of  the  battle.  1815. 

AFTER  the  cannonade  on  the  1st  of  January,  nothing 
of  interest  occurred  in  the  movements  of  either  army,  prior 
to  the  memorable  day  which,  while  it  placed  the  reputa 
tion  of  General  Jackson  for  military  genius  and  skill,  on  a 
level  with  that  of  the  ablest  commanders  of  the  age,  shed 
an  unfading  lustre  on  the  American  arms.  A  straggling 
fire  was  kept  up,  but  it  produced  little  or  no  effect.  Both 
parties  were  actively  engaged  in  watching  the  movements 
of  each  other,  and  in  making  preparations ;  the  one  for  a 
contemplated  attack,  and  the  other  for  an  effectual  resist 
ance.  On  the  4th  day  of  the  month,  the  long-expected 
reinforcement  from  Kentucky,  of  twenty-two  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  under  the  command  of  Major-general  Thomas, 
irrived  at  the  American  head-quarters  ;  but  they  were  so 
ill  provided  with  arms  as  to  be  incapable  of  rendering  any 
efficient  service.  The  alacrity  with  which  the  citizens  of 
that  state  had  proceeded  to  the  frontiers,  and  aided  in  the 
nc  *th-westc%i  campaigns,  added  to  the  disasters  which  ill 
7 


142  LIFE    OF    JACKSON 

timed  policy  or  misfortune  had  produced,  had  created  such 
a  scarcity  of  arms  that  they  were  not  to  be  procured.  The 
force  under  General  Thomas  had  confidently  expected  to 
be  supplied  on  their  arrival.  About  five  hundred  of 
them  had  muskets  ;  the  rest  were  provided  with  guns, 
which  were  more  or  less  unserviceable.  The  mayor  of 
New  Orleans,  at  the  request  of  General  Jackson,  had  al 
ready  examined  and  drawn  from  the  city  every  weapon 
that  could  be  found ;  while  the  arrival  of  the  Louisiana 
militia,  in  an  equally  unprepared  situation,  rendered  it 
impossible  for  the  evil  to  be  effectually  remedied.  A  boat 
laden  with  arms  intended  for  the  use  and  defence  of  the 
lower  country,  was  somewhere  on  the  river ;  but  where 
it  was,  or  when  it  might  arrive,  rested  entirely  on  hope 
and  conjecture.  Expresses  had  been  despatched  up  the 
river,  for  three  hundred  miles,  to  seek  and  hasten  it  on  ; 
still  there  were  no  tidings  of  its  approach.  That  so  many 
brave  men,  at  a  moment  of  such  anxious  peril,  should  be 
compelled  to  stand  with  folded  arms,  unable,  from  their 
situation,  to  render  the  least  possible  service  to  their  coun 
try,  was  an  event  greatly  to  be  deplored,  and  did  not  fail 
to  excite  the  feelings  of  the  commanding  general.  His 
active  mind  could  discover  no  means  by  which  their  ser 
vices  might  be  made  available,  and  no  alternative  was  pre 
sented,  but  to  place  them  at  his  intrenchment  in  the  rear, 
conceal  their  actual  condition,  and  by  the  show  they  might 
make,  add  to  his  appearance  and  numbers,  without  at  all 
increasing  his  effective  strength. 

Information  was  now  received,  that  Major-general  Lam 
bert  had  joined  the  British  commander  in  chief,  with  a 
considerable  reinforcement.  It  had  been  previously  an 
nounced  in  the  American  camp  that  additional  forces  were 
expected,  and  something  decisive  might  be  looked  for  as 
soon  as  they  should  arrive.  This  circumstance,  in  con 
nection  with  others  no  less  favoring  the  idea,  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  few  days  more  would,  in  all  probability, 
bring  on  the  struggle  which  was  to  decide  the  fate  of  the 
city.  It  was  more  than  ever  necessary  to  keep  the  situa 
tion  of  the  American  army  concealed,  and  General  Jack 
son  determined  at  once  to  restrict  all  communication,  even 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  AN  ATTACK.          148 

with  his  own  lines.  None  were  permitted  to  leave  the 
line,  and  none  from  without  to  pass  into  his  camp,  but 
such  as  were  to  be  implicitly  confided  in.  The  chain  of 
sentinels  was  strengthened  in  front,  to  prevent  a  passage 
to  the  enemy,  should  desertion  be  attempted  ;  yet,  notwith 
standing  his  caution  and  vigilance,  the  condition  of  his 
army,  and  its  disposition  in  the  intrenchments,  were  made 
known  to  the  enemy,  by  a  soldier  who  eluded  the  sentinels, 
and  made,  his  escape,  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  January. 
His  desertion  was  discovered  early  next  morning,  and  it 
was  rightly  conjectured  that  he  had  gone  to  the  British 
camp,  and  would  afford  them  all  the  information  in  his 
power  to  communicate.  This  opinion,  as  subsequent  cir 
cumstances  disclosed,  was  well  founded ;  and  dearly  did 
he  atone  his  crime.  He  unfolded  to  the  British  the  situ 
ation  of  the  American  line,  the  number  of  the  reinforce 
ments  lately  arrived,  and  the  unarmed  condition  of  many 
of  the  troops  ;  and  pointing  to  the  centre  of  General  Car 
roll's  division,  as  a  place  occupied  by  militia  alone,  he  re 
commended  it  as  the  point  where  an  attack  might  be  most 
safely  and  prudently  made. 

The  information  obtained  by  the  commanding  general 
on  the  7th,  confirmed  him  in  the  belief  that  an  attack  was 
in  contemplation.  It  was  ascertained  from  some  prisoners 
taken  on  the  lake,  that  the  enemy  were  busily  engaged  in 
deepening  Villere's  canal,  with  the  intention  of  passing 
their  boats  and  ordnance  into  the  Mississippi.  During 
the  day  a  constant  bustle  was  perceived  in  their  camp. 
Their  soldiers  were  continually  in  motion  along  the  borders 
of  the  canal,  marching  and  manoeuvring,  for  no  other  pur 
pose  except  that  of  concealing  the  men  who  were  busily 
engaged  at  work  in  the  rear.  In  order  to  ascertain  the 
cause  and  object  of  this  uncommon  movement,  as  far  as 
was  practicable,  Commodore  Patterson  proceeded  down 
the  river,  on  the  opposite  side,  and  having  gained  a  favor 
able  position  in  front  of  their  encampment,  discovered 
them  to  be  actually  engaged  in  deepening  the  passage  to 
the  river.  It  was  no  difficult  matter  to  divine  their  pur 
pose.  It  was  clearly  evident  that  an  assault  was  intended 
to  be  made  on  the  line  of  defence  commanded  by  General 


144  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

Morgan  ;  which,  if  successful,  would  expose  the  Ameri 
cans  on  the  left  bank  to  the  fire  of  the  redoubt  erected  on 
the  right,  and  in  this  way  compel  them  to  an  abandonment 
of  their  position.  It  was  important  to  counteract  this  de 
sign  ;  and  measures  were  immediately  taken  to  prevent 
its  execution.  The  force  on  the  right  bank  was  increased 
The  second  regiment  of  Louisiana  militia,  and  four  hun 
dred  Kentucky  troops,  were  ordered  to  reinforce  the  troops 
occupying  that  side  of  the  river.  Owing  to  some  delay 
and  difficulty  in  arming  them,  the  latter,  amounting,  in 
stead  of  four  hundred,  to  but  one  hundred  and  eighty,  did 
not  arrive  until  the  morning  of  the  hth.  A  little  before 
day  they  were  despatched  to  the  aid  of  an  advanced  party, 
under  the  command  of  Major  Arnaut,  who  had  been  sent 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  oppose  their 
landing.  The  hopes  indulged  from  their  opposition  were 
not  realized  ;  and  the  enemy  reached  the  shore  unmolested. 
The  position  of  General  Morgan,  besides  being  strength 
ened  by  several  brass  twelves,  was  defended  by  a  strong 
battery,  mounting  twenty-four  pounders,  under  the  direc 
tion  of  Commodore  Patterson,  which  was  an  important 
addition  to  its  strength  and  security.  The  line  itself  was 
not  strong ;  yet,  if  properly  maintained  by  the  troops  se 
lected  for  its  defence,  it  was  believed  to  be  fully  adequate 
to  the  purpose  of  successful  resistance.  Late  at  night, 
Patterson  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in 
passing  their  boats  through  the  canal,  and  immediately 
communicated  his  information  to  the  general.  The  com 
modore  had  already  formed  the  idea  of  dropping  the 
Louisiana  schooner  down,  to  attack  and  sink  them.  This 
thought,  though  well  conceived,  was  abandoned,  on  ac 
count  of  the  danger  involved,  and  from  an  apprehension 
lest  the  batteries  erected  on  the  river,  with  which  she 
would  come  in  collision,  might,  by  the  aid  of  hot  shot 
succeed  in  blowing  her  up.  It  was  preferred  patiently  t 
await  the  arrival  of  the  enemy,  in  the  belief  that  it  would 
be  practicable,  with  the  bravery  of  more  than  fifteen  hun 
dred  men,  and  the  advantages  possessed  from  their  line  of 
defence,  to  maintain  their  position,  and  repel  the  assail 
ants.  In  this  expectation  they  were  disappointed,  as 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  AN  ATTACK.         145 

Morgan  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  position  by  the  de 
tachment  under  Colonel  Thornton. 

On  the  left  bank,  where  the  general  commanded  in  per 
son,  every  thing  was  in  readiness  to  meet  the  assault 
when  it  should  be  made.  The  redoubt  on  the  levee  was 
defended  by  a  company  of  the  seventh  regiment,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  Ross.  The  regular  troops 
occupied  that  part  of  the  intrenchment  next  the  river. 
General  Carroll's  division  was  in  the  centre,  supported  by 
the  Kentucky  troops,  under  General  John  Adair ;  while 
the  extreme  left,  extending  for  a  considerable  distance  into 
the  swamp,  was  protected  by  the  brigade  of  General  Coffee. 
How  soon  the  attack  would  be  made,  was  a  matter  of 
uncertainty ;  but  the  brave  soldiers  whom  Jackson  had 
gathered  around  him,  calmly  awaited  the  approach  of 
the  enemy,  behind  the  breastwork  of  cotton  bags  which 
the  sagacity  of  their  commander  had  provided,  not  as  a 
shelter  for  cowardice,  but  as  a  protection  against  the  onset 
of  a  superior  force.  Sharing  the  same  high  hopes  and  the 
same  lofty  enthusiasm  that  swelled  in  his  bosom,  they 
snuffed  the  breeze  that  bore  to  their  ears  the  sounds  of 
an  approaching  conflict,  with  as  much  eagerness  as  the 
war-worn  veteran  inured  to  the  scenes  of  the  battle-field. 
The  general  himself  was  not  dismayed,  either  by  the  con 
dition  of  his  troops,  or  the  great  disparity  of  numbers  when 
compared  with  the  enemy,  but,  unmoved  by  appearances, 
he  anxiously  desired  a  contest,  which  he  believed  would 
give  a  triumph  to  his  arms,  and  terminate  the  hardships 
of  his  suffering  soldiers.  Unremitting  in  his  exertions, 
and  constantly  vigilant,  his  precaution  k^pt  pace  with  the 
zeal  and  preparation  of  the  British  commander.  He  sel 
dom  slept :  he  was  always  at  his  post,  performing  the  du 
ties  of  both  general  and  soldier.  His  sentinels  were  doubled, 
and  extended  as  far  as  possible  in  the  direction  of  the 
British  camp  :  while  a  considerable  portion  of  the  troops 
were  constantly  at  the  lines,  with  arms  in  their  hands, 
ready  to  act  when  the  first  alarm  should  be  given. 

For  eight  days  had  the  two  armies  lain  upon  the  same 
field,  in  view  of  each  other,  without  any  thing  decisive 
having  been  effected  on  either  side.  Twice  since  their 


146  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

landing  had  the  British  columns  attempted  to  carry  out 
their  plans  by  storm,  and  twice  had  they  been  compelled 
to  relinquish  the  attempt,  and  retire  from  the  contest.  It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  matters  would  continue  to  re 
main  in  such  a  doubtful  state.  The  pride  of  the  English 
soldiery,  the  boasted  conquerors  of  Europe,  were  there, 
with  distinguished  generals  for  their  leaders,  who  earnest 
ly  desired  to  announce  their  signal  achievements  to  the 
country  and  to  the  world.  The  high  expectations  which 
had  been  indulged  in  regard  to  the  success  of  this  expedi 
tion,  were  to  be  realized  at  every  peril,  or  disgrace  would 
follow  the  failure. 

The  8th  of  January  at  length  arrived.  At  the  dawn 
of  day,  the  signals  intended  to  produce  concert  in  the 
enemy's  movements  were  discovered.  A  skyrocket  was 
perceived  rising  in  the  air,  on  the  left  of  their  line,  near 
the  swamp,  which  was  answered  by  another  on  the  right, 
next  the  river.  The  British  columns  were  instantly  put 
in  motion,  and  advanced  with  such  rapidity,  that  the 
American  outposts  had  barely  time  to  reach  the  lines. 
The  sky  was  lighted  with  blazing  Congreve  rockets,  and  an 
incessant  shower  of  shells  and  bombs  was  poured  from  the 
British  batteries,  which,  though  demolished  on  the  first 
of  the  month,  had  been  re-established  and  remounted  with 
heavy  pieces  of  cannon,  during  the  preceding  night. 

The  enemy's  force  advanced  in  t\vo  divisions,  com 
manded  by  Sir  Edward  Packenham  in  person,  supported 
by  Generals  Keane  and  Gibbs  ;  the  right  pressing  forward 
against  the  centre  of  General  Carroll's  command,  and  the 
left  against  tha»  redoubt  on  the  levee.  The  dense  fog 
which  spread  over  the  river  and  the  adjacent  country,  en 
abled  them  to  approach  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
American  intrenchment  before  they  were  perceived. 
They  were  then  discovered  advancing  with  a  firm,  quick, 
and  steady  pace,  in  columns,  with  a  front  of  sixty  or  seven 
ty  deep.  The  Americans  had  been  in  readiness  for  some 
time,  waiting  their  appearance,  and  as  they  approached 
they  gave  three  hearty  cheers,  when,  upon  the  instant, 
their  whole  line  was  lighted  with  the  blaze  of  their  fire. 
A  burst  of  artillery  and  small  arms,  pouring  with  destruc- 


BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  147 

live  aim  upon  them,  mowed  down  their  front,  and  arrested 
their  advance.  In  the  musketry,  there  was  not  a  moment's 
intermission :  as  one  party  discharged  their  pieces,  another 
succeeded ;  alternately  loading  and  appearing,  no  pause 
could  be  perceived — it  was  one  continued  volley.  The 
columns  already  perceived  their  dangerous  and  exposed 
situation.  Battery  No.  7,  on  the  left,  was  ably  served  by 
Lieutenant  Spotts,  and  galled  them  with  an  incessant  and 
destructive  fire.  Batteries  Nos.  6  and  8  were  no  less  ac 
tively  employed,  and  no  less  successful  in  felling  them  to 
the  ground.  Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  fire, 
which  few  troops  could  for  a  moment  have  withstood,  some 
brave  men  pressed  on,  and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  ditch 
in  front  of  the  works,  where  they  remained  during  the 
action,  and  were  afterwards  made  prisoners.  The  horrors 
before  them  were  too  great  to  be  withstood,  and  the  British 
columns  soon  began  to  waver  in  their  determination,  and 
retire  from  the  conflict.  At  this  moment,  Sir  Edward 
Packenham  hastened  to  the  front,  and  endeavored  to  en 
courage  and  inspire  them  with  renewed  zeal.  His  exam 
ple  was  of  short  duration ;  he  soon  fell,  mortally  wounded, 
in  the  arms  of  his  aid-de-camp,  not  far  from  the  American 
line.  Generals  Gibbs  and  Keane  also  fell,  and  were  borne 
from  the  field  dangerously  wounded.  At  this  moment, 
General  Lambert,  who  was  advancing  at  a  small  distance 
in  the  rear,  with  the  reserve,  met  the  columns  precipitate 
ly  retreating,  and  in  great  confusion.  His  efforts  to  stop 
them  were  unavailing;  they  continued  their  retreat  until 
they  reached  a  ditch  at  the  distance  of  four  hundred  yards, 
where  they  were  rallied  and  halted. 

The  field  before  them,  over  which  they  had  advanced, 
was  strewed  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Danger  still  ho 
vered  around  them  ;  but  the  importunities  of  their  officers 
finally  prevailed  so  far  as  to  induce  them  to  advance  once 
more  to  the  charge.  They  were  already  near  enough  to 
deploy,  and  were  endeavoring  to  do  so ;  but  the  same  con 
stant  and  unremitting  fire  that  caused  their  first  retreat, 
continued  without  abatement.  The  American  batteries 
had  never  ceased  their  fire ;  their  constant  discharges  of 
grape  and  canister,  and  the  fatal  aim  of  the  musketry, 


148  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

mowed  down  the  front  of  the  columns  as  fast  as  they 
could  be  formed.  Satisfied  that  nothing  could  be  done, 
and  that  certain  destruction  awaited  all  further  attempts, 
they  forsook  the  contest  and  the  field,  in  disorder,  leaving 
it  almost  entirely  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounded.  It 
was  in  vain  their  officers  endeavored  to  animate  them  to 
further  perseverance,  and  equally  vain  to  attempt  coercion. 
The  panic  produced  by  the  dreadful  repulse  they  had  ex 
perienced,  and  the  terrible  havoc  made  in  their  ranks, 
while  with  their  most  zealous  exertions  they  had  been 
unable  to  obtain  the  slightest  advantage,  were  circum 
stances  well  calculated  to  make  even  the  most  submissive 
soldier  rebel  against  the  authority  that  would  control  him. 
The  light  companies  of  fusileers,  the  forty-third  and 
ninety-third  regiments,  and  one  hundred  men  from  the 
West  India  regiment,  forming  the  left  of  General  Keane's 
command,  led  by  Colonel  Rennie,  were  ordered  to  pro 
ceed  under  cover  of  some  chimneys  standing  in  the  field, 
until  they  had  cleared  them,  when  they  were  directed  to 
objique  to  the  river,  and  availing  themselves  of  tbe  protec 
tion  afforded  by  the  levee,  to  advance  against  the  redoubt 
on  the  right  of  the  American  line.  This  work  had  been 
but  recently  commenced,  and  was  in  an  unfinished  state. 
It  was  only  on  the  fourth  of  the  month  that  General  Jack 
son,  much  against  his  own  opinion,  yielded  to  the  sug 
gestions  of  the  other  officers,  and  permitted  the  work  to 
be  commenced.  The  plan  of  its  projection  was  such,  that 
it  was  impossible  to  defend  it  against  an  attack,  in  its  in 
complete  condition.  Rennie  executed  his  orders  with 
great  bravery,  and  pressing  forward  rapidly,  soon  reached 
the  ditch.  His  advance  was  greatly  annoyed  by  Commo 
dore  Patterson's  battery  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and 
the  cannon  mounted  on  the  redoubt ;  but  having  reached 
the  works,  he  gallantly  passed  the  ditch,  sword  in  hand. 
He  instantly  leaped  on  the  wall,  and  calling  to  his  troops, 
bade  them  follow  him.  The  words  had  scarcely  left  his 
lips,  when  he  fell  by  the  fatal  aim  of  a  rifleman.  Over 
powered  by  the  impetuosity  of  the  superior  numbers  who 
were  mounting  the  wall  and  entering  at  the  embrasures, 
the  Americans  retired  to  the  line,  in  rear  of  the  redoubt. 


BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  149 

A  momentary  pause  ensued,  but  only  to  be  interrupted 
by  increased  horrors.  Captain  Beal,  with  the  city  rifle 
men,  perceiving  the  enemy  in  his  front,  opened  upon  them, 
and  at  every  discharge  brought  numbers  of  them  to  the 
ground.  To  advance,  or  maintain  the  point  gained,  was 
equally  impracticable  for  the  enemy :  to  retreat  or  sur 
render  was  the  only  alternative  ;  for  they  already  per 
ceived  that  the  division  on  the  right  was  thrown  into  con 
fusion,  and  hastily  leaving  the  field. 

General  Jackson  being  informed  of  the  partial  success 
of  the  enemy  on  the  right,  and  of  their  having  obtained 
temporary  possession  of  the  redoubt,  sent  a  detachment  to 
retake  it ;  but  previous  to  its  arrival,  the  enemy  had 
abandoned  the  work,  and  commenced  retiring.  They 
were  severely  galled  in  their  retreat  by  such  of  the  guns 
as  could  be  brought  to  bear.  The  levee  afforded  them 
considerable  protection;  yet  they  suffered  greatly  from 
Commodore  Patterson's  redoubt  on  the  right  bank.  Being 
enfiladed  by  this  on  their  advance,  they  had  sustained  con 
siderable  injury,  and  now  in  their  retreat  were  no  less 
severely  assailed.  Numbers  found  a  grave  in  the  ditch 
before  the  line ;  and  of  those  who  originally  gained  the 
redoubt,  it  is  believed  that  not  one  escaped :  they  were 
shot  down  as  fast  as  they  entered.  The  route  along  which 
they  advanced  and  retired  was  strewed  with  bodies.  Af 
frighted  at  the  carnage,  the  surviving  members  of  the  de 
tachment  fled  from  the  scene  hastily  and  in  confusion. 
The  American  batteries  still  continued  to  pour  forth  their 
deadly  fire,  cutting  them  down  at  every  step :  safety 
seemed  only  to  be  attainable  by  retiring  beyond  the  range 
of  the  shot ;  which,  to  troops  galled  so  severely  as  they 
w-ere,  was  too  remote  a  relief.  Influenced  by  this  con- 
'sideration,  they  fled  to  the  ditch,  whither  the  right  divi 
sion  had  retreated,  and  there  remained  until  night  per 
mitted  them  to  retire. 

The  loss  of  the  British  in  the  main  attack  on  the  left 
bank,  has  been  variously  stated.  The  killed,  wounded 
and  prisoners,  as  ascertained  on  the  day  after  the  battle, 
by  Colonel  Hayne,  the  inspector-general,  was  twenty-six 
hundred  General  Lambert's  report  to  Lord  Bathurst. 
7* 


150  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

stated  it  to  be  but  two  thousand  and  seventy.  Judging 
from  the  accounts  given  by  the  prisoners,  and  information 
derived  through  other  sources,  it  must  have  been  even 
greater  than  was  represented  in  either  account.  Among 
the  killed,  were  the  commander  in  chief,  and  Major-general 
Gibbs,  who  died  of  his  wounds  the  next  day,  besides 
many  other  valuable  and  distinguished  officers.  The  loss 
of  the^Americans,  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  but  thirteen. 
Their  effective  force  at  the  line  on  the  left  bank,  was  three 
thousand  seven  hundred  ;  that  of  the  enemy  was,  at  least, 
nine  thousand.  The  whole  number  of  troops  landed  has 
been  differently  reported  ;  but  the  best  information  places 
it  at  about  fourteen  thousand.  A  part  of  this  force  was 
with  Colonel  Thornton  ;  the  climate  had  rendered  many 
unfit  for  the  duties  of  the  field  ;  while  a  considerable 
number  were  killed  and  wounded,  in  the  different  contests 
previous  to  that  on  the  <5th.  Their  real  strength,  there 
fore,  may  be  fairly  estimated  at  the  number  we  have 
stated  ;  at  any  rate,  it  could  hardly  be  less. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  assault  on  the  American  in- 
trenchments  was  considered  by  the  British  commander 
in  chief,  an  undertaking  of  greater  magnitude  than  was 
openly  admitted.  The  officer  who  leads  his  troops  on  a 
forlorn  attempt,  not  unfrequently  places  before  them  al 
lurements  stronger  than  either  authority  or  duty.  On  this 
occasion,  inducements  were  held  out,  than  which  nothing 
could  have  been  more  inviting  to  a  licentious  soldiery  fresh 
from  the  horrid  scenes  enacted  at  the  storming  of  St.  Se 
bastian.  The  charms  of  the  dark-eyed  beauties  of  Spain 
were  not  represented  to  be  more  attractive,  than  were  those 
of  our  fair  country-women,  who  looked  to  the  gallant  little 
band  assembled  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  for  safety 
and  protection.  The  cupidity  of  the  British  soldiers  was 
excited  by  the  hope  of  plunder,  and  the  most  lawless  pas 
sions  of  their  natures  were  aroused  to  desperation,  by  the 
promised  triumph  over  female  innocence  and  purity. 
This  fact  has  often  been  questioned,  and  in  some  in 
stances  positively  denied ;  but  the  circumstances  pre 
sented  at  the  time  of  the  transaction,  leave  no  doubt  of  its 
truth.  The  books  of  two  of  the  orderly  sergeants  taken 


BATTLE    OF    NEW  ORLEANS.  151 

in  battle,  and  the  voluntary  statements  of  prisoners,  show 
conclusively,  that  "  beauty  and  booty"  was  the  watch 
word  of  the  day.  These  words,  it  is  true,  in  and  of  them 
selves,  might  not,  under  certain  circumstances,  be  regarded 
as  of  any  weight ;  but  when  we  consider  the  situation  of 
the  American  army,  and  the  defenceless  condition  of  the 
city,  if  Jackson  had  been  defeated,  they  assume  an  im 
portance,  which  points  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion,  that 

hey  were  not  idly  adopted.  It  was  fortunate  for  New 
Orleans,  and  its  inhabitants,  that  the  gallantry  of  the 
American  general  and  the  brave  men  who  followed  him 
to  _the  battle-field,  was  sufficient  to  repel  the  attack  of 
soldiers  prompted  to  acts  of  courage  and  daring,  by  mo 
tives  which  disgrace  and  debase  humanity. 

The  events  of  the  8th  of  January,  afford  abundant 
evidence  of  the  generous  kindness  of  the  American  sol 
diers,  and  exhibit  a  striking  difference  in  the  troops  of  the 
two  nations.  While  those  of  one  were  incited  to  acts  of 
bravery  and  duty,  by  the  promised  pillage  and  plunder  of 
the  inhabitants,  and'  the  commission  of  the  most  odious 
crimes  ;  the  other  fought  for  their  kindred  and  their  coun 
try,  and  having  repelled  their  assailants,  instantly  laid 
aside  their  enmity,  and  regarding  their  fallen  foemen  as 
brethren,  hastened  to  relieve  them,  in  several  instances, 
at  the  hazard  of  their  lives.  The  desperate  courage  of 
many  of  the  British  soldiers  brought  them  close  to  the 
very  ramparts,  where  they  were  shot  down,  and  lay  badly 
wounded.  When  the  firing  had  ceased  and  the  columns 
had  retired,  the  Americans  left  their  lines,  to  assist  in 
bringing  in  their  wounded  enemies  who  were  near  the  in 
trenchment ;  but  while  engaged  in  this  commendable  ac 
of  charity  and  kindness,  they  were  fired  upon  by  the 
British,  from  the  ditch  they  had  occupied,  and  several  oi 

hem  were  seriously  injured.  Notwithstanding  this  das 
tardly  attack,  the  American  soldiers  persevered  in  their 
laudable  efforts  to  administer  to  the  wants,  and  relieve  the 
sufferings,  of  the  wounded  and  dying. 

Shortly  after  the  British  retired,  a  communication  was 
received  from  Major-general  Lambert,  on  whom  the  com 
mand  devolved  after  the  fall  of  Generals  Packenham, 


152  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

Gibbs,  and  Keane,  acknowledging  the  kindness  shown  to 
his  wounded  men,  and  soliciting  permission  to  bury  the 
dead,  and  bring  off  those  who  were  dangerously  wounded. 
General  Jackson  refused  to  permit  a  near  approach  to  his 
lines,  but  consented  that  the  wounded  who  were  at  a 
greater  distance  than  three  hundred  yards  from  the  in- 
trenchrnent  should  be  relieved,  and  the  dead  buried: 
those  nearer  his  lines,  he  agreed  should  be  delivered  over 
by  his  own  men,  to  be  interred  by  their  countrymen. 
This  precaution  was  taken,  in  order  that  the  enemy  might 
not  have  an  opportunity  to  inspect,  or  learn  any  thing 
concerning  his  position,  or  the  situation  of  the  troops 
under  his  command.* ;  About  noon,  a  proposition  was 
made  by  General  Lambert,  for  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
until  the  same  hour  the  next  day.  In  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  secure  an  important  advantage  which  he  had  in 
contemplation,  bv  his  apparent  willingness  to  comply  with 
the  proposal,  General  Jackson  drew  up  an  armistice  and 
forwarded  it  to  General, Lambert,  with  directions  for  its 
immediate  return,  if  approved.  It  contained  a  stipulation 
o  this  effect :  that  hostilities' on  the  left  bank  of  the  river 
should  be  discontinued  from  its  ratification,  but  that  on  the 
right  bank,  where  Colonel  Thornton  had  driven  Morgan 
from  his  position,  they  should  not  cease  ;  and  that  in  the 
interim,  under  no  circumstances  were  reinforcements  to 
be  sent  across  by  either  party.  This  was  a  bold  stroke  at 
stratagem ;  and  although  it  succeeded  even  to  the  extent 
desired,  was  yet  attended  with  considerable  hazard.  Re 
inforcements  had  been  ordered  over  to  retake  the  position 
lost  by  Morgan,  in  the  morning,  and  the  general  presumed 
they  had  arrived  at  their  point  of  destination  ;  but  at  this 
time  they  had  not  passed  the  river,  and  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  it  could  be  retaken  by  the  same  troops  who 
had  yielded  it  the  day  before,  when  possessed  of  ad 
vantages  which  gave  them  a  decidfed  superiority.  The 
commanding  general  well  knew  this  ;  yet,  to  spare  the 
sacrifice  of  his  men,  which  he  foresaw  must  be  consider 
able,  in  any  attempt  to  regain  it,  he  was  disposed  to 
venture  upon  a  course  which,  he  felt  assured,  could  not 
fail  to  succeed.  It  was  impossible  that  his  object  could 


AN    ARMISTICE    GRANTED.  153 

be  discovered,  and  he  confidently  believed  the  British 
commander  would  infer,  from  the  prompt  and  ready  man 
ner  in  which  his  proposal  had  been  met,  that  such  addi 
tional  troops  were  already  thrown  over  as  would  be  fully 
adequate  to  the  purpose  of  attack,  and  greatly  to  endanger, 
if  not  wholly  to  cut  off  Colonel  Thornton's  retreat.  Ge 
neral  Lambert's  construction  was  such  as  had  been  antici 
pated.  Although  the  armistice  contained  a  request  that 
it  should  be  immediately  signed  and  returned,  it  was  neg 
lected  to  be  acted  upon  until  the  next  day ;  and  Thornton 
and  his  command  re-crossed  the  river,  under  cover  of  the 
night,  and  the  ground  they  had  occupied  was  peaceably 
left  to  the  possession  of  the  original  holders. 

The  opportunity  thus  afforded,  of  regaining  a  position  on 
which,  in  a  great  degree,  depended  the  safety  of  those  on 
the  opposite  shore,  was  accepted  with  an  avidity  its  import 
ance  merited,  and  immediate  measures  were  taken  to  in 
crease  its  strength,  and  prepare  it  against  any  future  attack 
that  might  be  made.  This  delay  of  the  British  commander 
was  evidently  designed,  in  order  that  while  the  negotiation 
was  pending,  and  before  it  was  concluded,  an  opportunity 
might  be  had,  either  of  throwing  over  reinforcements,  or 
removing  Colonel  Thornton  and  his  troops  from  a  situa 
tion  so  extremely  perilous.  Early  next  morning,  General 
Lambert  returned  his  acceptance  of  what  had  been  pro 
posed,  with  an  apology  for  having  failed  to  reply  sooner : 
he  excused  the  omission,  by  pleading  a  press  of  business, 
which  had  occasioned  the  communication  to  be  overlooked 
and  neglected.  Jackson  was  at  no  loss  to  attribute  the 
delay  to  the  correct  motive ;  the  apology,  however,  was 
as  perfectly  satisfactory  to  him  as  any  thing  that  could 
have  been  offered ;  beyond  the  object  intended  to  be  ef 
fected,  he  felt  unconcerned,  and  having  secured  this,  he 
rested  perfectly  satisfied.  The  armistice  was  concluded 
on  the  9th  of  January,  and  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be 
continued  until  two  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  dead 
and  wounded  were  removed  from  the  field  ;  those  within 
the  line  of  demarcation,  which  the  British  were  not  per 
mitted  to  cross,  being  delivered  to  them  by  the  Americans, 
in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  stipulation. 


154  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

It  has  seldom  happened,  that  officers  have  been  more 
deceived,  or  atoned  more  severely  for  their  error,  than  was 
the  case  with  those  commanding  the  British  troops  on  this 
occasion.  They  seem  to  have  taken  it  for  granted  that 
the  militia  would  not  maintain  their  ground  when  warmly 
assailed  ;  and  that  at  the  approach  of  veteran  troops,  they 
would  at  once  forsake  the  contest,  and  seek  safety  in  flight. 
At  what  part  of  our  line  they  were  stationed,  was  as 
certained  by  information  derived  through  a  deserter ;  and 
influenced  by  the  belief  that  they  wanted  nerve  and  were 
deficient  in  bravery,  the  main  assault  was  made  at  this 
point.  They  were  indeed  militia ;  but  the  enemy  could 
have  assailed  no  part  of  the  American  intrenchraent  where 
they  would  have  met  a  warmer  reception,  or  where  they 
would  have  found  greater  strength;  it  was  certainly  the 
best  defended  part  of  the  line.  The  Kentucky  and  Ten 
nessee  troops,  under  Generals  Carroll,  Thomas,  and  Adair, 
were  there,  and  they  had  already  won,  on  former  occa 
sions,  a  reputation  that  was  too  dear  to  be  sacrificed. 
These  divisions,  alternately  charging  their  pieces  and 
mounting  the  platform,  poured  forth  a  constant  tire,  that 
was  impossible  to  be  withstood,  repelled  the  advancing 
columns,  and  drove  them  from  the  field  with  prodigious 
slaughter.  So  enraged  were  the  British  olh'cers  at  their 
repulse,  and  so  firmly  persuaded  that  the  information 
given  them  by  the  deserter  was  false,  that  they  called 
their  informant  before  them,  to  account  for  the  mischief 
he  had  done.  It  was  in  vain  he  urged  his  innocence, 
and  with  the  most  solemn  protestations,  declared  he  had 
stated  the  fact  truly  as  it  was.  They  could  not  be  con 
vinced — it  was  impossible  that  they  had  contended  against 
any  but  the  best  disciplined  troops  ;  and  without  further 
ceremony,  the  poor  fellow  was  suspended  in  view  of  the 
camp,  and  expiated  his  treachery,  if  not  his  misrepresen 
tations,  on  the  gibbet. 

The  gallant  conduct  of  the  American  troops  at  the  bat 

tie  of  New  Orleans,  has  often  been  the  subject  of  com 

mendation.     Their  bravery  and  zeal   were  conspicuous 

uring  the  continuance  of  the  contest.     It  was  impossible 

for  men  to  serve  under  such  a  leader  as  Jackson,  without 


BRITISH    ACCOUNT    OF    THE   BATTLE.  155 

becoming  imbued  \vith  the  same  dauntless  courage  which 
he  always  exhibited.  Bold  without  being  rash,  daring 
without  being  reckless,  his  own  noble  bearing  was  suffi 
cient  to  arouse  emotions  of  patriotism  where  none  had  ex 
isted.  The  8th  of  January  was  a  momentous  day,  not 
merely  in  his  history,  but  also  in  that  of  the  country.  He 
felt  the  importance  of  the  occasion,  but  nothing  caused 
him  to  waver  or  hesitate.  Thos<e_who  were  present  at 
the  battle,  concur  in__saying,  that  there  was  a  grandeur  and 
sublimity  about  him,  .as  he  jxtde,.  .along  the  lines,  that  was 
absolutely  iruesisiible.  Every  order  was  givenjvith  prompt 
ness  and  decision^  Above  the  thunder  ofTEe  artillery,  and 
the  roar  of  musketry,  he  was_  heard  jchejering  and  en- 
couragin"-  his  mejj.  Wherever  his  eagle-eye  flashed,  it 
excite^dlEernosTTntense  enthusiasm";  amfwhen  the  shrill 
notes  oFTTis  trumpetrYoice  were  heard  amidst  the  din  of 
battle,  every  heart  beat  with  a  stronger  pulsation,  and 
every  arm  was  nerved  with  tenfold  vigor. 

After  the  battle, -General  Jackson  could  have  easily 
captured  every  man  belonging  to  the  British  force,  on  the 
land,  if  he  had  been  supplied  with  arms,  according  to  his 
repeated  and  urgent  requests,  and  agreeably  to  the  pro 
mises  that  were  made  to  him.  The  want  of  these  com 
pelled  him  to  remain  stationary  in  his  position,  until  the 
opportunity  had  passed.  The  British  crossed  the  river, 
and  embarked  on  board  the  vessels  waiting  to  receive 
them,  without  further  molestation.  The  account  given 
by  them  of  the  battle,  is  so  very  different  from  what  really 
took  place,  and  there  is  such  an  evident  attempt  to  conceal 
the  extent  of  their  defeat,  that  it  is  well  worthy  the  pe 
rusal.  The  following  official  bulletin,  professing  to  give 
a  statement  of  the  affair,  was  issuedJiomJiie  war  office  in 
London,  on  the Jreceptipajpf  the  intelligence  : 

"  War  Department,  March  8,  1815. 

"  Captain  Wylly  arrived  this  morning,  with  despatches 

from   Major-general   Lambert,    detailing    the    operations 

against  the  enemy  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  Orleans. 

It  appears  that  the  army,  under  the  command  of  Major- 


156  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

general  Keane,  was  landed  at  the  head  of  the  Bayonne, 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d 
of  December,  without  opposition  ;  it  was,  however,  at 
tacked  by  the  enemy  in  the  course  of  the  night  succeed 
ing  the  landing,  when,  after  an  obstinate  contest,  the 
enemy  were  repulsed  at  all  points,  with  considerable  loss 
On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  Sir  E.  Packenham  arrived, 
and  assumed  the  command  of  the  army.  On  the  27th,  at 
daylight,  the  troops  moved  forward,  driving  the  enemy's 
pickets  to  within  six  miles  of  the  town,  when  the  main 
body  of  the  enemy  was  discovered,  posted  behind  a  breast 
work,  extending  about  one  thousand  yards,  with  the  right 
resting  on  the  Mississippi,  and  the  left  on  a  thick  wood. 
The  interval  between  the  27th  of  December  and  the  8th 
of  January,  was  employed  inpreparations  for  an  attack 
upon  the  enemy's  position.  jitnr"aUlLck  which  was  in- 

,-  ^TeTTtte^to  have  b^ia--fmtde-oti  the  night  of  the  7th,  did  not, 
owing  to  the  difficulties  experienced  in  the  passage  of  the 

1  Mississippi,  by  a  corps  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Thorn 
ton,  which  was  destined  to  act  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river,  take  place  till  early-on—the-  morning  of  the  8th.  m 
The  division  to  whom  the  storming  of  rtie~erv^my's  work 
was  intrusted,  moved  to  the  attack  at  that  tirru?,  but  being 
too  soon  discovered  by  the  enemy,  were  received  with  a 
galling  and  severe  fire  from  all  parts  of  their  line.  ]JMa- 
jor-general  Sir  Edward  Packenham,  who  had  placed  him 
self  at  the  head  of  the  troops,  was  unfortunately  killed  at 
the  head  of  the  glacis,  and  Major-generals  Gibbs  and 
Keane  were  nearly  at  the  same  moment  wounded.  The 
effect  of  this  upon  the  troops  caused  a  hesitation' in  their 
advance,  and  though  order  was  restored  by  the  advance 
of  the  reserve  under  Major-general  Lambert,  to  whom  the 
command  of  the  army  had  devolved,  and  Colonel  Thorn 
ton  had  succeeded  in  the  operation  assigned  to  him  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river ;  yet  the  major-general,  upon  the 
consideration  of  the  difficulties  which  yet  remained  to  be 
surmounted,  did  not  think  himself  justified  in  ordering  a 
renewal  of  the  attack.  The  troops,  therefore,  retired  to 
the  position  which  they  had  occupied  previous  to  the 


BRITISH  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BATTLE.        157 

attack.  In  that  position  they  remained  until  the  evening 
of  the  18th,  when,  the  whole  of  the  wounded,  with  the 
exception  of  eighty,  (whom  it  was  considered  dangerous 
to  remove,)  the  field  artillery,  and  all  the  stores  of 
every  description,  having  been  embarked,  the  army  re 
tired  to  the  head  of  the  Bayonne,  where  the  landing 
had  been  originally  effected,  and  re-embarked  without 
molestation." 


158  LIFE    OF    JA.CKSON. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1815.  Gratitude  of  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  to  their  deliverer — 
Jackson  strengthens  his  position — Anonymous  publications  inciting 
his  troops  to  revolt — The  author  placed  in  arrest — Judge  Hall  or 
dered  into  custody  for  his  interference — The  British  retire  to  their 
shipping — Treaty  of  peace  signed — Cessation  of  hostilities — Jack 
son  submits  to  the  fine  imposed  by  the  judge — Farewell  address  to 
his  troops — Return  to  Nashville — Depredations  committed  by  the 
Seminole  Indians — Jackson  ordered  to  take  command  of  the  south 
ern  army. — 'Enters  Florida  with  his  army — Execution  of  Arbuthnot 
and  Ambrister — Capture  of  St.  Marks  and  Pensacola — Termination 
of  hostilities — Jackson's  conduct  approved — Appointed  governor  of 
Florida — Administration  of  his  judicial  duties — Difficulty  with  the 
Ex-governor,  Callava — Jackson's  ill  health  compels  him  to  return 
home.  1821. 

THE  successful  defence  made  by  General  Jackson 
against  the  attempt  to  storm  his  intrenchments,  banished 
all  the  apprehensions  of  danger  which  the  citizens  of 
New  Orleans  had  previously  indulged.  They  eagerly 
hailed  him  as  their  deliverer  and  protector.  No  enofmium 
could  be  too  exalted  to  express  the  feelings  of  grWitude 
which  they  cherished  towards  him.  In  the  midst  of  dan 
gers  and  difficulties,  he  had  perseveringly  continued  his 
defensive  operations,  until  the  result  of  the  battle  fully 
confirmed  their  efficiency.  Obstacles  that  would  have 
disheartened  another  commander,  neither  interfered  with 
his  plans,  or  daunted  his  spirit.  Every  thing  was  made 
to  yield  to  the  necessities  of  the  crisis,  and  the  bidding  of 
his  determined  will.  His  influence  was  felt  everywhere 
around  and  about  him.  What  his  feeble  army  lacked  in 
numbers  and  in  equipments,  was  more  than  made  up,  by 
the  high-souied  enthusiasm  which  he  infused  into  their 
ranks.  Treason  shrunk  aba.sJKed  from  his  presence,  and 
cowardice  itself,  at  his  side,  became  the  most  unflinching 
courage  and  the  most  devoted  patriotism.  The  harsh  and 
vigorous  measures  to  which  he  was  compelled  to  resort, 


DIFFICULTY   WITH   JUDGE    HALL.  159 

Jed  to  frequent  complaints ;  but  when  the  danger  was 
averted,  and  the  city  saved  from  plunder  and  rapine,  even 
his  arbitrary  exercise  of  power  was  justified  and  approved. 
All  classes  and  conditions  united  in  the  expression  of  their 
sincere  and  heartfelt  thankfulness.  Demonstrations  of 
public  respect  succeeded  each  other  daily ;  the  congra 
tulations  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  whose  property  and 
whose  lives  he  had  defended,  flowed  in  upon  him  without 
stint ;  and  the  general  sentiment  of  approbation  which 
soon  reached  his  ears  was  no  more  flattering  to  his  pride, 
than  it  was  just  to  his  abilities  and  his  services. 

Although  the  defeat  of  the  British  on  the  8th  of  Jan 
uary  completely  frustrated  their  plans,  and  put  an  end  to 
their  contemplated  march  upon  the  city,  Jackson  deemed 
it  best  to  continue  the  same  watchful  discipline  and  care 
which  had  been  attended  with  such  satisfactory  results. 
Had  his  men  been  properly  supplied  with  arms,  he  would 
have  completed  the  brilliant  defence  of  the  8th  of  January, 
by  the  capture  of  the  whole  British  force,  but,  situated  as 
he  was,  it  would  have  been  rash  in  the  extreme  to  have 
commenced  any  offensive  operations.  He  confined  him 
self,  therefore,  to  perfecting  his  line  of  defences,  and  con 
structing  new  ones  at  assailable  points,  in  order  that  the 
succes^s  already  obtained  might  not  be  hazarded  by  re- 
missness  or  neglect.  While  actively  engaged  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duty,  the  traitors  and  spies  who  had  pre 
viously  occasioned  him  so  much  trouble  and  vexation,  were 
secretly  at  work  in  their  efforts  to  counteract  his  plans. 
Having  failed  in  one  attempt  to  betray  the  country,  they 
adopted  a  different  mode  of  proceeding.  Besides  afford 
ing  intelligence  of  his  movements  to  the  enemy,  they  caused 
anonymous  articles,  calculated  to  excite  mutiny  among  his 
troops,  to  be  inserted  in  one  of  the  newspapers  published 
n  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  So  bold  an  act  of  treason 
was  not  to  be  overlooked,  and  with  his  characteristic 
energy  and  decision  of  character,  Jackson  promptly  de 
manded  of  the  publisher  the  name  of  the  writer  of  the 
articles.  The  demand  was  complied  with,  and  the  traitor 
was  discovered  to  be  one  of  the  members  of  the  legislature. 
An  order  was  forthwith  issued  by  the  general  for  his  im- 


160  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

mediate  arrest.  An  application  was  made  to  Judge  Hall 
for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  which  was  granted.  As  has 
been  heretofore  mentioned,  the  judge  himself  was  at  once 
arrested  by  command  of  Jackson,  for  interfering  with  his 
authority.  At  this  time,  the  order  proclaiming  martial  law 
had  not  been  countermanded,  in  consequence  of  the  proxi 
mity  of  the  British  army,  and  if  the  general  had  allowed 
one  act  of  opposition  to  his  authority  to  pass  unnoticed, 
others  might  have  followed  in  its  train,  which  would  have 
produced  the  most  serious  consequences. 

The  British  forces  retired  to  their  shipping  and  took 
final  leave  of  Louisiana,  on  the  18th  of  January,  and  early 
in  the  month  of  February  the  intelligence  arrived,  that  a 
treaty  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  had  been  signed  by  the  commissioners  of  the  two 
governments,  at  Ghent,  on  the  24th  of  December  previous. 
The  cessation  of  hostilities  was  soon  after  officially  an 
nounced.  The  appearance  of  the  order  releasing  the  city 
from  the  restraints  of  martial  law,  was  followed  by  a  rule 
of  court  granted  by  Judge  Hall,  commanding  General 
Jackson  to  appear  and  show  cause  why  an  attachment 
should  not  issue  against  him  for  contempt,  in  refusing  to 
obey  a  writ,  and  imprisoning  the  organ  of  the  law.  He 
did  not  hesitate  to  appear  and  submit  a  full  and  able  an 
swer  justifying  his  proceedings.  After  argument  before 
the  court,  the  rule  was  made  absolute  ;  an  attachment  was 
sued  out,  and  Jackson  brought  up  to  answer  interrogatories. 
The  proceedings  were  obviously  unjust,  but  he  preferred, 
like  a  good  citizen,  to  submit  quietly  to  the  law.  He  therefore 
declined  answering  questions,  and  asked  for  the  sentence, 
which  the  judge,  who  was  exceedingly  inimical  towards 
him,  then  proceeded  to  pass.  It  was  a  fine  of  one  thousand 
dollars.  The  spectators  who  crowded  the  hall  evinced 
the  strongest  indignation.  On  entering  his  carriage,  it 
was  seized  by  the  people  and  drawn  to  the  coffee-house 
where  he  was  residing.  When  he  reached  hio  head  quar 
ters,  he  put  the  amount  of  the  fine  into  the  hands  of  one 
of  his  aids,  and  caused  it  to  be  discharged  without  delay. 
He  had  scarcely  anticipated  the  intentions  of  the  citizens, 
us  the  full  sum  was  raised  among  them  by  contribution. 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS    TO   HIS   TROOPS.  161 

in  a  few  moments.  Jackson  refused  to  accept  the  mo 
ney,  and  at  his  request  it  was  appropriated  to  a  charitable 
institution.  He  enjoyed  the  consciousness  that  the  powers 
which  the  exigency  of  the  times  forced  him  to  assume,  had 
been  exercised  exclusively  for  the  public  good,  and  were 
absolutely  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  country.  In  addi 
tion  to  this,  he  was  gratefully  remembered  by  the  people 
for  whom  he  had  sacrificed  his  ease  and  comfort,  and 
endured  so  many  hardships.  In  1821,  the  corporation  of 
New  Orleans  voted  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  erecting  a 
marble  statue  designed  to  commemorate  his  important 
military  services ;  and  the  same  body  also  gave  one  thou 
sand  dollars  for  his  portrait  painted  by  Mr.  Earle.  At  the 
session  of  the  United  States  Congress  in  1844-5,  complete 
though  tardy  justice  was  meted  out  to  Jackson,  by  the  pas 
sage  of  a  law  in  effect  approving  of  his  conduct,  and  mak 
ing  provision  for  the  restitution  of  the  fine,  with  interest. 
Notwithstanding  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  General 
Jackson  remained  at  New  Orleans,  with  the  troops  under 
his  command,  until  the  month  of  March,  at  which  time 
he  was  relieved  by  General  Gaines.  On  taking  leave  of 
the  brave  volunteers  who  had  cheerfully  followed  him 
through  so  many  difficulties  and  dangers,  previous  to  their 
final  discharge,  he  issued  the  following  address,  thanking 
them  for  their  fidelity  to  the  country,  and  expressing  his 
sincere  wishes  for  their  future  happiness  and  prosperity : 

"  The  major-general  is  at  length  enabled  to  perform  the 
pleasing  task  of  restoring  to  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Louisi 
ana,  and  the  territory  of  the  Mississippi,  the  brave  troops 
who  have  acted  such  a  distinguished  part  in  the  war  which 
has  just  terminated.  In  restoring  these  brave  men  to  their 
homes,  much  exertion  is  expected  of,  and  great  responsi 
bility  imposed  on,  the  commanding  officers  of  the  different 
corps.  It  is  required  of  Major-generals  Carroll  and  Thomas, 
and  Brigadier-general  Coffee,  to  march  their  commands, 
without  unnecessary  delay,  to  their  respective  states.  The 
troops  from  the  Mississippi  territory,  and  state  of  Louisi 
ana,  both  militia  and  volunteers,  will  be  immediately  mus 
tered  out  of  service,  paid,  and  discharged* 


162  LIFE   OF   JACKSON. 

"  The  major-general  has  the  satisfaction  of  announcing 
the  approbation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  the 
conduct  of  the  troops  under  his  command,  expressed  in 
flattering  terms,  through  the  honorable  the  secretary  of  war. 

"  In  parting  with  those  brave  men,  whose  destinies  have 
been  so  long  united  with  his  own,  and  in  whose  labors 
and  glories  it  is  his  happiness  and  his  boast  to  have  parti 
cipated,  the  commanding  general  can  neither  suppress  his 
feelings,  nor  give  utterance  to  them  as  he  ought.  In  what 
terms  can  he  bestow  suitable  praise  on  merit  so  extraor 
dinary,  so  unparalleled  ?  Let  him,  in  one  burst  of  joy, 
gratitude,  and  exultation,  exclaim — '  These  are  the  saviors 
of  their  country — these  the  patriot  soldiers,  who  triumphed 
over  the  invincibles  of  Wellington,  and  conquered  the 
conquerors  of  Europe  !'  With  what  patience  did  you 
submit  to  privations — with  what  fortitude  did  you  end\ire 
fatigue — what  valor  did  you  display  in  the  day  of  battle  ! 
You  have  secured  to  America  a  proud  name  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth — a  glory  which  will  never  perish. 

"  Possessing  those  dispositions  which  equally  adorn  the 
citizen  and  the  soldier,  the  expectations  of  your  country 
will  be  met  in  peace,  as  her  wishes  have  been  gratified  in 
war.  Go,  then,  my  brave  companions,  to  your  homes;  to 
those  tender  connections,  and  blissful  scenes,  which  render 
life  so  dear — full  of  honor,  and  crowned  with  laurels  which 
will  never  fade.  When  participating,  in  the  bosoms  of 
your  families,  the  enjoyment  of  peaceful  life,  with  what 
happiness  will  you  not  look  back  to  the  toils  you  have 
borne — to  the  dangers  you  have  encountered  ?  How  will 
all  your  past  exposures  be  converted  into  sources  of  inex 
pressible  delight !  Who,  that  never  experienced  your 
sufferings,  will  be  able  to  appreciate  your  joys  ?  The 
man  who  slumbered  ingloriously  at  home,  during  your 
painful  marches,  your  nights  of  watchfulness,  and  your 
days  of  toil,  will  envy  you  the  happiness  which  these  re 
collections  will  afford — still  more  will  he  envy  the  gratitude 
of  that  country,  which  you  hare  so  eminently  contributed 
to  save. 

"  Continue,  fellow-soldiers,  on  your  passage  to  your  se 
veral  destinations,  to  preserve  that  subordination,  that 


RETURN    HOME.  163 

dignified  and  manly  deportment,  which  have  so  ennobled 
your  character. 

"  While  the  commanding  general  is  thus  giving  indulg- 
?nce  to  his  feelings  towards  those  brave  companions  who 
accompanied  him  through  difficulties  and  danger,  he  can 
not  permit  the  names  of  Elount,  and  Shelby,  and  Holmes, 
to  pass  unnoticed.  With  what  generous  ardor  and  pa 
triotism  have  these  distinguished  governors  contributed 
all  their  exertions  to  provide  the  means  of  victory  !  The 
recollection  of  their  exertions,  and  of  the  success  which 
has  resulted,  will  be  to  them  a  reward  more  grateful  than 
any  which  the  pomp  of  title  or  the  splendor  of  wealth  can 
bestow. 

"  What  happiness  it  is  to  the  commanding  general,  that, 
while  danger  was  before  him,  he  was,  on  no  occasion, 
compelled  to  use  towards  his  companions  in  arms  either 
severity  or  rebuke  !  If,  after  the  enemy  had  retired,  im 
proper  passions  began  their  empire  in  a  few  unworthy 
bosoms,  and  rendered  a  resort  to  energetic  measures  ne 
cessary  for  their  suppression,  he  has  not  confounded  the 
innocent  with  the  guilty — the  seduced  with  the  seducers. 
Towards  you,  fellow-soldiers,  the  most  cheering  recollec 
tions  exist ;  blended,  alas  !  with  regret,  that  disease  and 
war  should  have  ravished  from  us  so  many  worthy  com 
panions.  But  the  memory  of  the  cause  in  which  they 
perished,  and  of  the  virtues  which  animated  them  while 
living,  must  occupy  the  place  where  sorrow  would  claim 
to  dwell. 

"  Farewell,  fellow-soldiers.  The  expression  of  your  ge 
neral's  thanks  is  feeble,  but  the  gratitude  of  a  country  of 
freemen  is  yours — yours  the  applause  of  an  admiring 
world.  "  ANDREW  JACKSON, 

"  Major-general  commanding." 

On  his  route  to  Nashville,  General  Jackson  saw,  on 
every  side,  the  certain  evidences  of  exultation  and  delight. 
The  reputation  he  had  acquired  during  his  campaigns  in 
the  Creek  country,  had  extended  from  one  section  of  the 
union  to  the  other.  All  were  familiar  with  the  prompt 
ness  and  decision,  the  active  intrepidity,  and  unyielding 


164  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

firmness,  he  had  evinced  in  his  different  engagements 
and  marches  through  the  Indian  territory  of  the  Hickory 
Ground,  and  in  allusion  to  which  the  appellation  of  "Old 
Hickory"  had  been  bestowed  upon  him  ;  and  the  brilliant 
victory  won  at  New  Orleans  threw  the  country  into  a 
complete  fever  of  joy. 

For  two  years  afterwards,  General  Jackson,  though  still 
retaining  his  rank  in  the  army,  remained  at  home  engaged 
in  cultivating  his  farm,  and  busily  occupied  with  rural 
pleasures  and  labors.  In  the  winter  of  1817,  the  hostile 
Creeks,  or  Seminoles,  who  had  been  driven  into  Florida, 
in  connection  with  runaway  negroes  from  the  adjoining 
states,  began  to  execute  schemes  of  robbery  and  vengeance 
against  the  Americans  living  near  the  frontiers.  Repre 
sentations  in  regard  to  these  outrages  had  been  made  to  the 
American  government,  and  General  Gaines,  the  acting 
commander  of  the- southern  district,  was  ordered,  in  the 
summer  of  1817,  to  occupy  a  position  near  the  borders, 
with  a  considerable  force,  for  the  protection  of  the  citizens. 
He  was  at  first  directed  to  keep  within  the  territorial 
limits  of  the  United  States,  and  not  to  cross  the  Florida 
line  ;  but  to  demand  of  the  Indians  the  perpetrators  of  the 
crimes  which  had  been  committed,  avoiding,  if  possible, 
a  general  rupture  with  the  deluded  savages.  General 
Gaines  made  the  demand,  in  conformity  with  his  orders. 
The  savages,  however,  being  deceived  by  the  representa 
tions  of  certain  foreign  incendiaries  and  traders,  who 
taught  them  to  believe  that  they  would  receive  assistance 
and  encouragement  from  the  British,  not  only  refused  to 
give  up  the  murderers,  but  repeated  their  barbarities  when 
ever  an  opportunity  offered.  Whilst  matters  remained  in 
this  condition,  the  intelligence  was  received  that  Lieuten 
ant  Scott,  one  of  General  Gaines'  officers,  with  forty-seven 
persons,  men,  women  and  children,  had  been  surprised  by 
an  ambuscade  of  Indians,  when  descending  the  Appalachi- 
cola  river  in  a  boat,  about  two  miles  below  the  junction  of 
the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie,  and  that  the  whole  detach 
ment  had  been  killed  or  taken  prisoners,  except  six  men, 
who  had  made  their  escape.  Those  who  were  taken 
alive  were  wantonly  butchered  by  the  ferocious  savages ; 


ORDERED   TO    THE    SOUTH.  166 

the  little  children  were  seized,  and  their  brains  dashed  out 
against  the  side  of  the  boat ;  and  all  the  helpless  females, 
with  one  exception,  were  murdered. 

On  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence,  the  government  saw 
the  necessity  of  adopting  energetic  measures.  Orders 
were  immediately  issued  to  General  Jackson  to  repair  to 
Forr  Scott  and  take  command  of  the  forces  in  that  quarter, 
with  authority,  in  case  he  should  deem  it  necessary,  to 
call  upon  the  Executives  of  the  adjoining  states  for  addi 
tional  iroops.  He  was  also  authorized  to  cross  the  bound 
ary  line  of  Florida,  which  was  still  a  Spanish  territory,  if 
necessary  in  the  execution  of  his  orders.  The  orders 
which  had  been  issued  to  General  Gaines,  and  to  which 
he  was  referred  for  his  own  guidance,  required  him  to 
adopt  •«  measures  necessary  to  terminate  a  conflict  which 
had  been  avoided  from  considerations  of  humanity,  but 
which  had  now  become  indispensable,  from  the  settled 
hostility  of  the  savage  enemy."  The  Secretary  of  War 
also  said,  in  a  letter  written  to  General  Gaines  in  the 
month  of  January,  1818 :  "  The  honor  of  the  United 
States  requires  that  the  war  with  the  Seminoles  should 
be  terminated  speedily,  and  with  exemplary  punishment 
for  hostilities  so  unprovoked." 

Having  collected  the  'Tennessee  volunteers,  with  that 
zeal  and  promptness  which  ever  marked  his  career,  Ge 
neral  Jackson  repaired  to  the  post  assigned  him,  and  as 
sumed  the  command.  The  necessity  of  crossing  the  line 
into  Florida  was  no  longer  a  subject  of  doubt.  A  large 
body  of  Indians  and  negroes  had  made  that  territory  their 
refuge,  and  the  Spanish  authorities  were  either  too  weak  or 
too  indifferent  to  restrain  them.  In  order  to  comply  with 
the  orders  issued  to  him,  Jackson  penetrated  at  once  into 
the  Seminole  towns,  reducing  them  to  ashes,  and  driving 
the  enemy  before  him.  In  the  council-house  of  the  Mic- 
kasukians,  more  than  fifty  fresh  scalps,  and  in  an  adjacent 
house,  upwards  of  three  hundred  scalps,  of  all  ages  and 
sexes,  were  found  ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  public  square 
a  red  pole  was  erected,  crowned  with  scalps,  known  by 
the  hair  to  have  belonged  to  the  companions  of  Lieutenant 
Scott.  To  inflict  merited  punishment  on  the  barbarians, 


16(5  LIFE    OF    JACKSONf. 

and  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  massacres,  by  bringing 
the  war  to  a  speedy  and  successful  termination,  he  pur 
sued  his  way  to  St.  Marks.  He  there  found,  in  con 
formity  with  previous  information,  that  the  Indians  and 
negroes  had  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  post  to  them  ; 
and  that  the  Spanish  garrison,  according  to  the  command 
ants  own  acknowledgment,  was  too  weak  to  support  it, 
He  ascertained  also  that  the  enemy  had  been  supplied  with 
the  means  of  carrying  on  the  war,  from  the  commandant 
of  the  post ;  that  foreign  incendiaries,  who  instigated  the 
savages  to  cruelty,  had  free  communication  with  the  fort  : 
and  that  councils  of  war  were  permitted  by  the  com 
mandant  to  be  held  by  the  chiefs  and  warriors,  within  his 
own  quarters.  The  Spanish  store-houses  were  appro 
priated  to  the  use  of  the  hostile  party,  and  actually  filled 
with  goods  belonging  to  them,  though  property  known  to 
have  been  plundered  from  American  citizens  was  pur 
chased  from  them  by  the  commandant,  while  he  professed 
friendship  to  the  United  States. 

General  Jackson,  therefore,  did  not  hesitate  to  demand 
of  the  officer  commanding  at  St.  Marks,  the  surrender  of 
that  post,  that  it  might  be  garrisoned  by  an  American 
force,  and,  when  the  Spaniard  hesitated,  he  entered  the 
fort  by  force,  though  without  bloodshed  ;  the  enemy  hav 
ing  fled,  and  the  garrison  being  too  weak  to  offer  any  se 
rious  opposition.  From  this  place  he  marched  upon  Su- 
wanee,  seized  the  stores  of  the  enemy  and  burnt  their  vil 
lages. 

A  variety  of  circumstances  now  convinced  General  Jack 
son,  that  the  savages  had  commenced  the  war  and  persist 
ed  in  their  barbarity.  He  therefore  arrested  at  St.  Marks 
several  of  the  British  incendiaries  who  had  excited  them 
to  hostilities.  One  Alexander  Arbuthnol,  an  Indian  trader 
was  taken  at  St.  Marks,  where  he  had  been  living  as  at 
inmate  in  the  family  of  the  commandant.  He  was  tried 
by  a  court  of  inquiry,  of  thirteen  respectable  officers,  and 
sentenced  to  be  hung,  which  sentence  was  immediately 
carried  into  execution.  Robert  Ambrister,  formerly  a  lieu 
tenant  in  the  British  marine  corps,  was  also  tried  ;  and  it 
having  been  proved  that  he  had  not  only  encouraged  and 


SEMINOLE   CAMPAIGN.  167 

assisted  the  hostile  savages,  but  had  also  led  them  in  their 
marauding  excursions,  he  was  sentenced  by  the  court  to 
receive  fifty  stripes  and  to  be  confined,  with  a  ball  and 
chain,  at  hard  labor,  for  twelve  calendar  months.  General 
Jackson,  however,  disapproved  of  this  sentence,  which  he 
did  not  think  sufficiently  severe ;  and  the  case  being 
reconsidered,  Ambrister  was  sentenced  to  be  shot,  which 
sentence  was  forthwith  executed. 

It  was  now  supposed  by  the  commanding  general  that 
the  war  was  at  an  end.  St.  Marks  was  garrisoned  by  an 
American  force ;  the  Indian  towns  of  Mickasuky  and 
Suwanee  were  destroyed  ;  two  prominent  chiefs  who  had 
been  the  prime  movers  and  leaders  of  the  savages,  had 
been  killed  ;  and  the  two  foreign  instigators  taken  and  exe 
cuted.  The  American  commander,  therefore,  ordered  the 
Georgia  militia,  who  had  joined  him,  to  be  discharged,  and 
was  about  to  return  himself  to  Tennessee.  While  mak 
ing  his  preparations,  he  was  informed  that  the  Indians 
were  admitted  freely  by  the  governor  at  Pensacola ;  that 
they  were  collecting  in  large  numbers,  five  hundred  being 
in  Pensacola  on  the  15th  of  April,  many  of  whom  were 
known  to  be  hostile,  and  had  just  escaped  from  the  pursuit 
of  his  troops ;  that  the  enemy  were  furnished  with  am 
munition  and  supplies,  and  received  intelligence  of  the 
movements  of  his  forces,  from  that  place  ;  and  that  a  num 
ber  of  them  had  sallied  out  and  murdered  eighteen  Ame 
rican  citizens,  who  had  settled  upon  the  Alabama,  and 
were  immediately  received  by  the  governor,  and  furnished 
with  means  of  transportation  across  the  lake,  that  they 
might  escape  pursuit. 

These  facts  being  ascertained  by  General  Jackson,  from 
reliable  authority,  he  forthwith  took  up  his  line  of  march 
towards  Pensacola,  at  the  head  of  a  detachment  of  about 
twelve  hundred  men,  for  the  purpose  of  counteracting  the 
views  of  the  enemy.  On  the  18th  of  May,  he  crossed 
the  Appalachicola  at  the  Ocheese  village,  with  the  intention 
of  scouring  the  country  west  of  that  river,  and  on  the  23d 
of  the  month,  he  received  a  communication  from  the  go 
vernor  of  West  Florida,  protesting  against  his  entrance 
into  that  province,  commanding  him  to  retire  from  it,  and 


168  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

declaring  that  he  would  repel  force  by  force  if  he  did  not 
obey.  This  communication,  together  with  other  indica 
tions  of  the  governor's  hostility,  were  followed  by  prompt 
action  on  the  part  of  the  American  general.  He  marched 
direct  to  Pensacola,  and  took  possession  of  that  place  the 
following  day.  The  governor  himself  fled  to  Fort  Carlos 
de  Barrancas,  which  post  also  surrendered,  after  a  feeble 
resistance,  on  the  28th  of  May.  This  bold  and  energeti 
mode  of  carrying  on  the  war  soon  put  an  end  to  the  de 
predations  of  the  Indians  and  negroes.  Parties  of  them 
were  scattered  here  and  there  through  the  country,  and,  to 
prevent  them  from  attacking  the  frontier  settlements, 
two  of  the  volunteer  companies  were  ordered  to  scour  the 
country  between  the  Mobile  and  the  Appalachicola.  Thus 
ended  the  Seminole  campaign,  which,  though  not  distin 
guished  by  any  heavy  battles,  was,  nevertheless,  a  most 
arduous  and  harassing  kind  of  warfare. 

General  Jackson  returned  to  the  Hermitage,  in  June, 
1818.  His  promptness  and  decision  in  checking  the  in 
cursions  of  the  savages,  and  putting  an  end  to  their  de 
predations,  elicited  new  acknowledgments  and  new  evi 
dences  of  respect  and  admiration.  The  general  govern 
ment  deemed  it  expedient  ultimately  to  restore  to  Spain 
the  posts  of  St.  Marks  and  Pensacola;  but  the  conduct  of 
Jackson  was  approved,  and  President  Monroe  expressed 
the  opinion  in  his  annual  message,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  session  of  Congress  in  1818,  that  the  "misconduct 
of  the  Spanish  officers,"  in  affording  countenance  and  pro 
tection  to  the  savages,  fully  justified  the  course  which 
had  been  pursued.  The  proceedings  of  the  general  in 
regard  to  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  were,  in  like  manner, 
unequivocally  confirmed.  The  British  o-overmnent  even, 
though  always  prompt  in  protecting  her  citizens,  could  not 
but  acknowledge  the  justice  of  their  condemnation. 

General  Jackson  returned  home  in  the  summer  of  1818, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  following  winter  he  visited  Wash 
ington.  The  incidents  of  the  Seminole  campaign  were  then 
under  consideration  in  Congress,  and  a  report  was  made  by 
a  committee  of  the  Senate  extremely  hostile  to  his  character. 
It  had  not  the  concurrence  of  the  ablest  members  of  the 


APPOINTED    GOVERNOR   OF    FLORIDA.  169 

committee,  and  on  the  appearance  of  an  article  in  the  Na 
tional  Intelligencer,  written  by  General  Jackson  himself, 
triumphantly  defending  his  conduct,  all  further  action  upon 
it  was  suspended.  An  attempt  was  also  made  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  pass  a  vote  of  censure,  but  it 
was  rejected  by  a  decisive  majority.  While  at  the  east, 
the  general  visited  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York, 
in  each  of  which  he  was  welcomed  with  distinguished 
honors.  He  received  the  freedom  of  the  city  of  New  York 
on  the  19th  of  February,  in  a  gold  box  ;  and  there,  as  well 
as  in  Baltimore,  the  municipal  council  requested  and  ob 
tained  his  portrait,  to  be  placed  in  their  hall. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1819,  a  treaty  was  signed  be 
tween  Spain  and  the  United  States,  by  which  the  Floridas 
were  ceded  to  the  latter  power.  Upon  the  final  ratification 
of  the  treaty,  Congress  passed  a  law,  empowering  the  pre 
sident  to  vest  in  such  person  or  persons  as  he  might  select, 
all  the  military,  civil,  and  judicial  authority  exercised  by 
the  officers  of  the  Spanish  government.  Under  this  law, 
the  president  selected  General  Jackson  to  act  as  commis 
sioner  for  receiving  the  provinces,  and  to  assume  the  go 
vernment  of  them.  The  intimate  acquaintance  of  Jackson 
with  the  country,  and  the  energy  and  decision  of  his  cha 
racter,  specially  recommended  him  for  this  position.  The 
territory  was  completely  overrun  with  smugglers,  negro- 
stealers,  and  desperadoes  of  every  description ;  and  it  re 
quired  the  exercise  of  no  little  firmness  and  rigor  to  restore 
quiet  and  good  order.  The  general  reluctantly  accepted 
the  office,  and  on  the  1st  of  July,  1821,  he  issued  his  pro 
clamation  at  Pensacola,  announcing  that  he  had*taken 
possession  of  the  territory  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  all  citizens  were  required  to  yield  obedience  to 
her  authority.  Prompt  measures  were  adopted  for  enforc 
ing  the  laws,  and  securing  the  due  administration  of  justice. 
Courts  were  immediately  organized,  and  a  system  of  inter 
nal  police  instituted. 

By  the  treaty  with  Spain  it  was  expressly  stipulated, 
that  all  the  archives  and  documents  relating  to  the  pro 
perty  and  sovereignty  of  the  provinces  should  be  delivered 
up  to  the  American  authorities.  A  case  soon  occurred  un 


170  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

der  this  clause  of  the  treaty,  which  called  oao  ail 
Jackson's  well-known  firmness  and  promptitude.  On  the 
22d  of  August,  he  received  a  petition  from  certain  indivi 
duals,  setting  forth  that  certain  papers  of  great  importance 
to  the  rights  of  several  orphan  females,  whose  inheritance 
was  under  litigation,  had  been  feloniously  retained  by  the 
Spanish  Ex-governor,  Callava,  and  that  they  were  in  the 
hands  of  a  man  named  Sousa.  Jackson  forthwith  ordered 
three  officers  to  wait  upon  Sousa,  and  demand  the  docu 
ments.  He  exhibited  them  to  the  officers,  but  refused  to 
give  them  up,  as  they  had  been  intrusted  to  him  by  Cal 
lava.  On  being  summoned  to  appear  before  Jackson  with 
the  papers,  Sousa  returned  for  answer  that  they  had  been 
sent  to  the  house  of  the  Ex-governor.  Two  officers  were 
directed  to  repair  thither  and  demand  them  ;  and  if  Cal 
lava  refused  to  deliver  them  up,  to  arrest  both  him  and  his 
steward,  who  had  received  them,  and  bring  them  before 
the  governor.  After  considerable  parleying,  Callava 
finally  refused,  in  the  most  positive  terms,  to  surrender  the 
documents,  whereupon  he  was  conducted,  under  a  guard, 
to  the  office  of  Jackson.  Arrived  there,  he  persisted  in 
his  refusal,  and  commenced  protesting  against  the  course 
pursued  by  the  general,  who  instantly  committed  him  to 
prison. 

The  box  containing  the  papers  was  obtained  the  next 
morning,  and  opened  by  officers  specially  commissioned 
for  that  purpose.  The  papers  sought  for  were  found,  to 
gether  with  decrees  which  Callava  had  made,  in  favor  of 
the  heirs,  but  corruptly  suppressed.  The  object  of  his 
imprisonment  having  been  gained,  the  Ex-governor  was 
released  from  custody.  Previous  to  his  discharge,  a  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  was  issued  to  extricate  him  from  his  con 
finement,  by  Mr.  Fromentin,  who  had  been  appointed 
judge  by  the  United  States  government,  with  a  jurisdic 
tion  expressly  limited  to  cases  arising  under  the  revenue 
laws,  and  the  acts  of  Congress  prohibiting  the  introduc 
tion  of  slaves.  At  this  time,  the  general  judiciary  act  had 
not  been  extended  to  Florida,  and  General  Jackson  pos 
sessed,  in  his  own  person,  by  the  terms  of  the  law  under 


HIS    RESIGNATION.  171 

which  he  was  appointed,  the  supreme  judicial  power  uni 
formly  exercised  by  the  Spanish  governors,  captains-gene 
ral,  and  intendants.  He,  of  course,  refused  to  obey  the 
writ,  and  reprimanded  Mr.  Fromentin,  in  severe  terms,  for 
his  interference.  Callava  afterwards  attempted  to  excite 
a  prejudice  against  General  Jackson,  by  an  exposition 
which  was  published  in  some  of  the  American  papers; 
but  the  statements  made  by  him  were  shown  to  be  so 
grossly  false,  that  he  obtained  little  sympathy.  The  pro 
ceedings  of  Jackson  underwent  the  rigid  scrutiny  of  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  the  result 
was  his  complete  justification.  Although  the  measures 
he  adopted  appeared  harsh,  the  American  people  were 
ready  to  approve  his  conduct,  when  it  was  ascertained 
that  it  originated  in  a  desire  to  carry  out  his  own  noble 
sentiment,  that  "the  great  can  protect  themselves,  but 
the  poor  and  humble  require  the  arm  and  shield  of  the 
law." 

Several  Spanish  officers  who  had  remained  with  Cai- 
lava,  published  an  article  in  a  Pensacola  paper,  after  his 
discharge,  in  which  they  accused  the  general  of  violence 
and  tyranny.  It  was  stipulated  in  the  treaty  that  all  Spa 
nish  officers  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  territories,  with 
in  six  months  after  its  ratification.  More  than  this  term 
had  elapsed.  Jackson  issued  a  proclamation  without  de 
lay,  commanding  them,  as  trespassers  and  disturbers  of  the 
public  peace,  to  depart  in  the  course  of  a  week.  They 
wisely  obeyed  the  order  and  left  the  territory.  About 
the  same  time,  the  Ex-governor  of  East  Florida  attempted 
to  retain  a  number  of  important  documents  which  should 
have  been  delivered  up.  When  the  fact  came  to  his 
knowledge,  the  general  transmitted  his  orders  to  take  them 
by  force,  if  they  were  withheld.  The  order  was  carried 
into  effect ;  the  ex-governor  protested  against  the  act,  but 
received  little  sympathy  or  encouragement. 

The  ill  health  of  General  Jackson  compelled  him  to 
resign  his  position  in  a  few  months.  On  the  7th  of  Oc 
tober,  he  delegated  his  power  to  his  secretaries,  and  re 
turned  to  Nashville.  In  his  valedictory  address  to  the 


172  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

citizen?  of  Florida,  he  informed  them  that  he  had  com 
pleted  'he  temporary  organization  of  the  two  provinces, 
and  justified  and  defended  the  acts  of  his  administration. 
It  was  with  great  regret  that  the  people  of  the  territory 
saw  hum  depart,  and  the  spontaneous  manifestations  of 
esteem  and  gratitude  which  were  exhibited  towards  him, 
were  ><Kh  creditable  to  him  and  to  those  whom  he  had 
so  faiti*tVly  served. 


RESIGNS   HIS   COMMISSION.  173 


CHAPTER  XI. 

i821.  Jackson  resigns  his  office  in  the  army — Testimonials  of  public 
respect — A  candidate  for  the  Presidency — Defeated  in  the  House 
of  Representatives — Election  of  Mr.  Adams — Course  of  Jackson's 
friends — His  renomination — Warmth  of  the  contest — Elected  pre 
sident — Death  of  his  wife — Kindness  to  her  relatives — His  first  mes 
sage — Veto  of  the  Maysville  road  bill — Dissolution  of  the  cabinet — 
Opposition  to  the  United  States  Bank — Veto  message — Re-elected 
president — Difficulty  with  the  nullifiers — Assaulted  by  Lieutenant 
Randolph — Removal  of  the  deposits — Public  excitement — Con 
troversy  with  France — Retirement  to  private  life.  1837. 

THE  hardships  and  privations  which  General  Jackson 
had  experienced  in  his  different  campaigns  against  the 
Indians,  so  far  undermined  his  health,  that  he  was  com 
pelled  to  resign  his  commission  in  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  and  retire  to  private  life.  But  the  gratitude  of  the 
nation  followed  him  in  his  retirement,  and  only  waited  the 
opportunity  to  confer  upon  him  the  high  reward  which 
was  due  to  his  long  and  faithful  services.  The  citizens 
of  Tennessee  were  not  only  proud  of  the  distinguished 
reputation  which  reflected  so  much  honor  on  his  adopted 
state,  but  they  were  eager  to  evince  to  the  world  the 
favorable  estimation  in  which  they  regarded  him.  On 
the  4th  day  of  July,  1822,  the  governor  of  the  state,  by 
order  of  the  legislature,  presented  him  with  a  sword, 
as  a  testimonial  "  of  the  high  respect  entertained  for  his 
public  services  ;"  and  on  the  20th  of  August  following, 
the  same  body  recommended  him  to  the  union  for  the 
office  of  president.  This  recommendation  was  repeated 
by  the  legislature  of  Alabama,  and  various  meetings  of 
private  citizens  in  different  sections  of  the  country.  In 
1823,  the  office  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Mexican 
government  was  tendered  to  him  by  President  Monroe ; 
8* 


174  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

but  he  declined  its  acceptance.  He  was  again  elected 
to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  and  remained  in  the  office  until  1825. 

The  canvass  previous  to  the  presidential  election  in 
1824  commenced  as  early  as  the  year  1822.  A  majority 
of  the  republican  party,  to  which  Jackson  belonged,  in  the 
northern  and  middle  states,  were  in  favor  of  the  nomina 
tion  of  John  Gluincy  Adams,  then  secretary  of  state.  The 
same  party  at  the  south  and  west,  were  divided  between 
General  Jackson,  William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  Henry 
Clay,  of  Kentucky,  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Caro 
lina.  During  the  congressional  sessions  in  1823  and  Ib24, 
the  presidential  question  was  constantly  in  agitation.  The 
friends  of  Mr.  Crawford  were  probably  the  most  numerous 
in  the  two  houses,  but  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  mem 
bers  were  in  favor  of  some  other  candidate.  It  had  usually 
been  the  custom  to  make  the  nominations  in  advance  of 
the  election,  at  a  congressional  caucus,  and  an  effort  was 
made  at  the  session  of  1824,  to  bring  forward  the  name 
of  Mr.  Crawford  in  that  way.  A  caucus  was  accordingly 
held,  but  it  was  not  attended  by  a  majority  of  the  repub 
lican  members.  The  consequence  was,  that  each  section 
of  the  country  was  left  at  liberty  to  support  whichever  of 
the  candidates  was  preferred.  The  election  was  con 
ducted  with  considerable  spirit  and  animation,  and  the 
result  was,  that  no  candidate  received  a  majority  of  the 
electoral  votes.  On  counting  the  official  returns,  it  ap 
peared  that  Andrew  Jackson  had  received  ninety-nine 
votes;  John  Gluincy  Adams,  eighty-four;  William  H. 
Crawford,  forty-one,  and  Henry  Clay,  thirty-seven. 

The  constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  that 
where  no  candidate  for  the  presidency  receives  a  majority 
of  the  electoral  votes,  the  election  shall  be  made  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  from  the  three  highest  on  the 
list ;  and  that  the  members  shall  vote  by  states ;  each 
state  being  entitled  to  but  one  vote.  No  choice  having 
been  made  by  the  people  at  the  election  in  1824,  the 
matter  was  brought  forward  at  the  ensuing  session  of 
Congress,  and  John  Gluincy  Adams  was  elected  president, 
he  having  received  the  votes  of  thirteen  states. 


CHOSEN   PRESIDENT.  175 

Soon  after  the  result  of  this  election,  Mr.  Crawford 
withdrew  from  puhlic  life,  in  consequence  of  a  severe 
bodily  affliction.  Mr.  Clay  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  under  Mr.  Adams,  and  the  friends  of  Jackson  and 
Crawford  subsequently  united  in  opposition  to  the  then 
administration.  The  manner  in  which  Jackson  had  been 
defeated,  notwithstanding  his  having  received  the  greatest 
number  of  votes,  encouraged  his  friends  and  supporters, 
who  were  quite  numerous,  and  devotedly  attached  to  him, 
to  make  renewed  efforts  for  the  next  election!  An  attempt 
was  made  to  bring  forward  De  Witt  Clinton  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  as  a  candidate ;  but  he  expressly  refused  to 
allow  his  name  to  be  used  in  opposition  to  General  Jack 
son.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Adams,  however,  took  prompt 
measures  to  procure  his  re-election.  In  September,  1827, 
the  general  republican  committee  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
most  of  whom  had  previously  been  Crawford  men,  pre 
sented  Jackson  as  their  candidate  for  the  presidency.  At 
the  November  election  in  that  year,  a  large  majority  of 
the  electors  of  the  state  expressed  their  approbation  of 
the  movement,  by  the  choice  of  a  majority  of  members 
of  the  legislature  friendly  to  his  nomination.  This  satis 
factory  evidence  of  the  feelings  of  the  voters  in  so  large 
and  powerful  a  state,  put  an  end  to  the  idea  of  selecting 
any  other  candidate.  His  nomination  was  welcomed,  with 
a  feeling  akin  to  enthusiasm,  from  one  end  of  the  union  to 
the  other,  and  the  election,  which  took  plac"e  in  1828,  was 
one  of  the  most  animated  and  exciting  which  had  been 
witnessed  for  several  years. 

During  the  canvass,  the  partizans  on  both  sides  became 
quite  exasperated,  and  much  was  said  and  written  con 
cerning  the  candidates,  which  might  hav,e  been  wisely 
mitted.  Among  other  things,  the  private  character  and 
ubiic  acts  of  General  Jackson  were  subjected  to  a  severe 
and  rigid  scrutiny.  The  circumstances  attending  his  mar 
riage,  his  conduct  during  the  campaign  against  the  Creeks, 
the  attack  on  Pensacola,  the  arrest  of  Judge  Hall,  and  the 
trial  and  merited  punishment  of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister, 
were  commented  on  in  the  harshest  terms,  and  in  many 
instances  grossly  misrepresented.  These  uncalled  for  at- 


176  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

tacks  produced  no  effect  on  the  public  mind,  except  that 
of  enlisting  a  warmer  feeling  of  sympathy  in  his  behalf, 
and  animating  his  friends  to  renewed  exertion.  The 
result  of  the  election  was,  that  General  Jackson  received 
one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  of  the  electoral  votes,  and 
Mr.  Adams  eighty-three. 

Not  long  after  the  result  of  the  election  was  made 
known,  General  Jackson  experienced  a  most  afflicting 
bereavement,  in  the  death  of  his  amiable  wife.  To  him 
the  loss  was  irreparable.  For  many  anxious  years,  when 
the  duties  of  his  position  had  called  him  from  her  side,  by 
the  lonely  watch-fire,  in  the  solitude  of  the  forest,  on  the 
ramparts  ot  his  intrenchments  at  New  Orleans,  amid  the 
leafy  hammocks  and  everglades  of  the  far  south,  had  he 
looked  forward  to  his  retirement  from  his  public  duties, 
comforted  by  the  cherished  hope  that  the  evening  of  his 
days  would  be  gilded  with  the  halo  of  that  deep  and 
earnest  affection  which  had  ever  been  the  light  and  the 
joy  of  the  Hermitage.  It  was  hard  for  him  to  part  with 
one  to  whom  he  was  so  devotedly  attached,  just  as  he  was 
entering  upon  the  enjoyment  of  the  crowning  reward  of  a 
brilliant  and  prosperous  career.  To  the  day  of  his  death 
he  continued  to  cherish  her  memory  with  a  sincere  and 
heart-felt  reverence.  Having  no  descendants  of  his  own, 
he  proved  himself,  if  that  were  possible,  even  more  than 
a  father,  to  the  younger  branches  of  her  family.  He 
adopted  them  as  his  own,  and  always  regarded  them  with 
marked  favor  and  kindness. 

General  Jackson  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  chief 
magistracy  of  the  Union,  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1829. 
In  his  inaugural  address,  he  set  forth,  in  general  terms, 
his  views  in  regard  to  the  administration  of  the  govern 
ment,  and  expressed  the  diffidence  he  felt  on  assuming 
the  high  and  responsible  station  to  which  he  had  been  ele 
vated.  His  first  annual  message  to  the  two  Houses  of 
Congress,  delivered  on  the  8th  day  of  December,  1829, 
contained  a  more  full  exposition  of  his  opinions  in  regard 
to  questions  of  public  policy.  He  averred  his  determina 
tion  to  bring  the  matters  in  dispute  with  Great  Britain 
and  France,  growing  out  of  the  north-eastern  boundary 


HIS    FIRST   MESSAGE.  177 

question  and  the  claims  of  American  citizens  for  depreda 
tions  committed  on  their  property,  to  a  speedy  settlement. 
He  recommended  the  amendment  of  the  constitution,  so 
as  to  enable  the  electors  of  the  country  to  vote  directly  for 
president  and  vice-president,  the  modification  of  the  tariff, 
the  apportionment  of  the  surplus  revenue  among  the 
several-  states,  provided  it  was  "  warranted  by  the  consti 
tution,"  and  the  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  He  also  expressed  his  doubts  as  to  the  pro 
priety  of  renewing  the  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
and  his  belief  that  if  a  similar  institution  was  thought  ne 
cessary  for  the  purposes  of  the  government,  it  should  be 
exclusively  a  national  one,  founded  upon  the  public  reve 
nues  and  credit.  In  the  month  of  May,  1830,  a  bill  passed 
the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  proposing  to  authorize  "  a 
subscription  of  stock  in  the  Maysville,  Washington,  Paris, 
and  Lexington  Turnpike  Road  Company."  On  the  27th 
of  the  month,  the  president  returned  the  bill  with  his 
objections  to  its  passage.  Although  friendly  to  works  of 
internal  improvement,  he  stated  that  he  was  opposed  to  the 
construction  of  any  work  involving  a  claim  of  jurisdiction 
to  the  territory  necessary  to  be  occupied  for  its  preserva 
tion  and  use,  paramount  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  state  ; 
and  to  the  appropriation  of  money  "  from  the  national  trea 
sury,  in  aid  of  such  works  when  undertaken  by  state  au 
thority,  surrendering  the  claim  of  jurisdiction."  Believing 
that  the  bill  under  consideration  was  liable  to  both  objec 
tions,  he  withheld  his  official  sanction. 

The  annual  message  of  the  president  in  December,  1830, 
contained  no  new  recommendations  of  special  importance. 
His  views  in  regard  to  the  amendment  of  the  constitution, 
the  distribution  of  the  surplus  revenue,  and  the  recharter 
of  the  United  States  Bank,  were  again  presented  to  the 
consideration  of  Congress.  During  the  session,  a  resolu 
tion  was  presented  by  Colonel  Benton  in  the  Senate,  de 
claring  that  the  charter  of  the  bank  ought  not  to  be  renewed, 
which  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  twenty-three. 

At  the  time  of  General  Jackson's  election  in  1828,  it 
was  thought  that  he  might  not  be  a  candidate  for  re-elec 
tion.  Consequently,  the  question  as  to  the  selection  of  his 


178  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

successor  early  attracted  the  attention  of  the  politicians  at 
the  seat  of  government.  In  the  winter  of  1830,  consider 
able  ill  feeling  was  produced  in  his  cabinet,  particularly 
on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  the  vice-president,  Mr.  Cal- 
houn,  growing  out  of  what  was  said  to  be  the  especial  favor 
shown  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  secretary  of  state.  An  un 
fortunate  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  family  relations  of 
several  members  of  the  cabinet,  increased  this  ill-feeling  to 
such  an  extent,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  Mr.  Eaton,  the 
secretary  of  war,  tendered  their.resignations  in  April,  1 831 . 
On  accepting  the  resignations,  General  Jackson  signified 
to  their  associates  his  desire  to  reconstruct  his  cabinet, 
whereupon  the  other  members  resigned,  and  a  new  cabinet 
was  formed  which  proved  to  bc^much  more  harmonious  in 
its  operations.  It  was  always  a  prominent  wish  with 
General  Jackson,  to  secure  entire  unanimity  among  his 
constitutional  advisers ;  and  this  did  not  proceed  from  any 
desire  to  exact  a  slavish  subserviency  to  his  views  ;  but  it 
was  the  natural  consequence  of  his  remarkable  energy  and 
independence  of  character.  Prepared  at  all  times  to  as 
sume  every  responsibility  connected  with  his  administra 
tion  of  the  executive  authority,  he  desired  his  cabinet  to 
be  a  complete  unit,  and  that  it  should  adopt  the  plans  and 
carry  out  the  views  approved  by  him  whom  the  law  and 
the  constitution  had  recognised  as  its  head. 

The  president  announced  to  Congress,  at  the  session 
commencing  in  December,  1831,  the  fact  that  a  treaty 
had  been  signed  with  France  providing  for  the  payment 
of  the  claims  for  illegal  seizures  and  confiscations  during 
the  war  with  the  allied  powers.  This  had  long  been  a 
vexed  question  of  difference  between  the  two  governments, 
and  its  adjustment  was  ardently  desired  on  all  hands.  On 
the  4th  day  of  July,  183*2,  the  bill  to  recharter  the  United 
States  Bank,  which  had  been  passed  by  the  two  Houses 
of  Congress,  was  presented  to  General  Jackson.  His  views 
in  regard  to  that  institution  were  well  known.  Previous 
to  his  election  to  the  presidency,  he  had,  on  several  occa 
sions,  avowed  his  hostility  to  a  continuance  of  the  charter. 
On  the  10th  day  of  July,  he  returned  the  bill  to  the  Senate, 
in  which  it  originated,  accompanied  with  his  reasons  for 


VETO  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  BANK.       179 

declining  to  give  the  measure  his  approbation.*  This 
was  a  bold  and  decided  step  on  the  part  of  the  president. 
Although  many  of  his  friends  had  long  known  what  would 
be  his  decision,  quite  a  number  of  them,  and  those  among 
the  most  influential,  were  friendly  to  the  bill,  and  indulged 
the  hope  that  it  would  finally  receive  his  sanction.  When 
it  became  known  that  the  veto-message  was  about  to  be 
sent  in,  he  was  beset  with  importunities  to  reconsider  his 
determination.  But  the  rock  of  Gibraltar  could  not  have 
been  more  immovable.  His  opinions  could  not  be  changed, 
and  the  line  of  conduct  he  had  marked  out  was  fixed  and 
unalterable. 

Whatever  may  be  the  views  entertained  in  regard  to  the 
positions  laid  down  in  the  veto-message  of  General  Jack 
son,  no  one  can  avoid  admiring  the  unshrinking  firmness 
and  high  moral  courage  displayed  in  his  course  on  this 
question.  The  bank  wielded  an  immense  power.  All 
classes,  trades,  and  conditions,  were  more  or  less  connected 
with  its  transactions.  Its  agents  were  scattered  over  the 
country,  from  one  extremity  to  the  other ;  and,  as  the  se 
quel  proved,  those  who  controlled  its  affairs  were  not  un- 
wiJling  to  enter  into  the  arena  of  political  strife,  for  the 
purpose  of  perpetuating  its  existence.  General  Jackson 
was  renominated  for  the  presidency,  in  1832,  in  connection 
with  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  as  the  candidate 
for  vice-president.  The  incidents  of  this  important  elec 
tion  are  not  yet  forgotten.  The  sudden  contractions  and 
expansions  of  the  currency  produced  by  the  bank  were 
severely  felt.  The  moneyed  interests  of  the  country  were 
temporarily  deranged.  The  storm  was  a  severe  one.  No 
public  man  of  his  day  but  Andrew  Jackson,  possessed  the 
fearlessness  requisite  to  encounter  it.  No  man  save  him 
self  had  that  deep  and  abiding  hold  on  the  sympathies  and 
affections  of  the  American  people,  without  which  he  would 
inevitably  have  been  crushed.  Nothing  but  his  command 
ing  influence  and  wide-spread  popularity,  connected  with 
the  unflinching  resoluteness  of  his  character,  enabled  him, 
like  the  proud  oak,  to  set  the  whirlwind  at  defiance. 

*  See  page  241. 


180  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

Henry  Olay  was  selected  as  the.  candidate  of  the  oppo 
nents  of  General  Jackson's  administration.  The  friends 
of  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  South  Carolina,  where  the  tariff  ques 
tion  had  already  produced  a  most  bitter  feeling  of  hostility 
to  the  general  government,  remained  almost  entirely  aloof 
from  the  contest.  The  anti-masonic  party  in  the  northern 
states,  which  had  recently  been  formed,  supported  William 
Wirt  of  Maryland.  A  great  deal  of  vindictiveness  and 
animosity  was  engendered  during  the  canvass,  and  much 
of  the  hostility  evinced  towards  General  Jackson  during 
the  remainder  of  his  administration,  may  be  traced  to  the 
veto  and  his  subsequent  re-election.  The  returns  from  the 
electoral  colleges  exhibited  the  following  result :  Andrew 
Jackson  received  two  hundred  and  nineteen  votes,  and 
Henry  Clay  forty-nine  ;  John  Floyd  received  the  eleven 
electoral  votes  of  South  Carolina ;  and  seven  were  given 
for  William  Wirt  in  Vermont.  The  re-election  of  General 
Jackson,  by  so  great  a  majority,  in  despite  of  the  opposition 
arrayed  against  him,  showed  conclusively  the  extraordi 
nary  extent  of  his  popularity  and  influence. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1832,  the  state  of  South 
Carolina  was  agitated  with  the  throes  of  an  incipient  re 
volution.  It  was  claimed  by  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  friends, 
who  were  known  in  the  political  parlance  of  the  day,  as 
nullifiers,  that  the  operation  of  the  revenue  laws  was  so 
exceedingly  unfair  and  unjust,  that  it  released  that  state 
from  all  its  obligations  under  the  compact  formed  between 
the  several  members  of  the  union.  Arms  were  procured, 
and  men  organized  into  companies  and  regiments,  under 
the  orders  of  the  state  government,  in  order  to  resist  the 
execution  of  the  laws  if  an  attempt  were  made  to  enforce 
them  within  her  boundaries.  Such  proceedings  could  not 
be  suffered  to  pass  unnoticed.  President  Jackson  im 
mediately  caused  the  fortifications  of  the  United  States  in 
that  quarter  to  be  amply  provided  and  garrisoned,  and  the. 
attention  of  Congress  was  called  to  the  subject  in  his  an 
nual  message.  Soon  after  the  message  was  delivered, 
the  information  was  received  that  a  convention  held  in 
the  state  of  South  Carolina,  had  passed  an  ordinance  de 
claring  the  several  acts  of  Congress  to  which  objections 


ATTACK   OF    LIEUTENANT    RANDOLPH.  181 

bad  been  raised,  to  be  unauthorized  by  the  constitution 
and  therefore  null  and  void.  The  president  forthwith 
issued  his  celebrated  proclamation,  which  is  deservedly 
regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  state  papers  that  ever  carne 
from  his  pen.*  It  is  remarkable  alike  for  the  nervous 
eloquence  of  its  style,  and  the  glowing  and  earnest  pa 
triotism  which  breathes  forth  in  every  line.  On  the  16th 
of  January,  1833,  the  proceedings  of  the  nullifiers  were 
made  the  subject  of  a  special  communication  to  Congress. 
This  exciting  controversy  was  terminated,  after  consider 
able  difficulty,  by  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  Act, 
which  contemplated  an  entire  change  in  the  tariff  system 
of  the  country. 

In  the  spring  of  1833,  a  personal  attack  was  made  upon 
General  Jackson,  which  shows  how  little  age  had  dimmed 
the  fire  and  intrepidity  of  his  youth.  On  the  6th  of  May, 
he  left  Washington,  in  company  with  the  members  of  his 
cabinet,  and  his  private  secretary,  in  compliance  with  the 
invitation  of  the  "Monumental  Committee"  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  pillar,  to  be  erected  in 
honor  of  the  mother  of  Washington.  "The  day,"  says 
the  correspondent  of  a  public  paper,  "  was  mild,  and  the 
air  soft  and  refreshing.  After  the  company  had  assembled 
on  board,  they  paid  their  respects  to  the  Executive,  which 
that  venerable  patriot  received  with  the  ease  and  grace  of 
the  most  finished  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  They  then 
separated ;  some  of  the  party  went  upon  the  upper  deck, 
to  admire  the  picturesque  and  beautiful  scenery  of  the 
surrounding  country,  whence,  from  the  north  round  to  the 
south,  lay  a  line  of  high  grounds,  forming  within  their 
interior  an  extensive  amphitheatre.  On  the  south,  was  the 
broad  and  peaceful  Potomac,  stretching  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  On  the  eastern  branch  of  the  rivet  was  to 
be  seen  the  navy  yard,  and  several  of  the  public  armed 
vessels  lying  in  the  stream,  with  our  flag  floating  on  the 
breeze  ;  and  on  the  western  branch,  we  had  a  distant  but 
beautiful  view  of  Georgetown,  as  it  slopes  from  the  high 
grounds  to  the  river :  and  between  that  and  the  navy 

*  See  page  263. 


182  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

yard,  was  to  be  seen  the  city  of  Washington,  whence  we 
had  just  taken  our  departure  ;  and  from  our  situation  we 
had.  at  one  glance,  a  view  of  the  bridge  crossing  the  river, 
which  exceeds  a  mile  in  extent,  the  chief  magistrate's 
house,  and  the  capitol,  with  its  splendid  dome,  rearing  its 
head  over  every  other  object.  Among  those  who  went 
upon  the  upper  deck  were  the  heads  of  departments.  A 
group  of  ladies,  with  their  attendants,  were  seated  in  the 
after  part  of  the  boat ;  and  an  excellent  band  of  music  was 
playing  several  national  airs-  as  the  steamer  glided  on  her 
way,  and  shortly  arrived  at  the  city  of  Alexandria.  Gene 
ral  Jackson  had,  just  previous  to  the  boat's  reaching  the 
wharf,  retired  to  the  cabin,  and  had  taken  his  seat  at  a  long 
table,  which  had  been  set  preparatory  for  dinner.  He 
was  seated  on  the  west  side,  and  next  to  the  berths,  there 
being  barely  room  enough  left  between  the  berths  and 
table  for  a  person  to  pass,  by  moving  sidewise.  Upon 
his  left  sat  Mrs.  Thruston,  the  wife  of  Judge  Thrtiston, 
of  Washington  ;  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table  sat 
Major  Donelson,  the  general's  private  secretary  ;  Mr.  Pot 
ter,  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  departments  at  Washington  ;  and 
Captain  Broome,  of  the  marine  corps.  The  president  was 
reading  a  newspaper.  While  in  this  situation,  (there 
being  no  other  person  in  the  cabin  or  near  him,)  a  large 
number  of  citizens"  came  on  board,  as  it  was  supposed  to 
pay  their  respects  to  him.  Among  the  number  was  Ran 
dolph,  late  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy.  He  made  his  way 
into  the  cabin,  and  after  speaking  to  Captain  Broome,  who 
had  long  been  acquainted  with  him,  he  immediately  ad 
vanced  between  the  table  and  the  berths  towards  the  pre 
sident,  as  if  to  address  him.  The  president  did  not  know 
him,  and  it  seems  that  Captain  Broome  did  not  mention 
his  name,  because,  he  said,  he  believed  that  the  object  of 
his  visit  was  to  present  a  petition  praying  to  be  restored 
to  the  navy  again  ;  still,  as  the  captain  did  not  know  that 
that  was  the  object  of  his  visit,  and  fearing,  as  he  said, 
that  he  might  intend  to  commit  some  act  of  violence,  he 
stepped  quickly  to  the  same  side  of  the  table,  and  ad 
vanced  up  to  and  near  Randolph,  who  had  by  this  time 
corne  so  near  General  Jackson  as  to  be  observed  by  him. 


ATTACK    OF    LIEUTENANT   RANDOLPH.  183 

who,  supposing  it  was  some  person  about  to  salute  him, 
said  that  he  was  afflicted  with  a  severe  pain  in  his  side, 
and  begged  to  be  excused  for  not  rising ;  and  seeing  that 
Randolph  had  some  difficulty  in  pulling  off  his  glove,  he 
stretched  out  his  hand  towards  him,  saying,  at  the  same 
time,  "Never  mind  your  glove,  sir."  Upon  this,  Ran 
dolph  thrust  one  hand  violently  into  the  president's  face  ; 
but  before  he  could  make  use  of  the  other,  or  repeat  his 
blow,  Captain  Broome  seized  and  drew  him  off  towards 
the  door.  A  part  of  the  table  was  broken  down  in  the 
scuffle.  Mr.  Potter  thrust  his  umbrella  at  Randolph  across 
the  table,  at  the  moment  Captain  Broome  seized  him  ; 
whereupon,  Randolph's  friends  clenched  him,  hurried  him 
out  of  the  cabin,  and  off  from  the  boat,  leaving  his  hat  be 
hind.  This  \vas  done  so  quickly  that  the  fe\v  persons 
who  were  near  the  president  were  not  aware  of  it,  as  they 
had  all  turned  round  after  pushing  Randolph  away,  to 
inquire  whether  or  not  the  chief  magistrate  was  much 
hurt.  He  was  so  confined  behind  the  table,  that  he  could 
not  rise  with  ease,  nor  could  he  seize  his  cane  in  time  to 
defend  himself.  The  news  of  this  outrage  was  soon  cir 
culated  around  the  boat,  and  at  first  it  seemed  so  incredible 
that  no  one  could  be  found  to  believe  it ;  all,  however,  im 
mediately  repaired  to  .the  cabin,  and  heard  the  president 
relate  the  story  himself. 

"  Had  I  been  apprized,"  said  he,  "  that  Randolph  stood 
before  me,  I  should  have  been  prepared  for  him,  and  I 
coufd  have  defended  myself.  No  villain,"  said  he,  "  has 
ever  escaped  me  before ;  and  he  would  not,  had  it  not 
been  for  my  confined  situation." 

Some  blood  was  seen  on  his  face,  and  he  was  asked 
whether  he  had  been  much  injured. 

"No,"  said  he,  "I  am  not  much  hurt;  but  in  en- 
eavoring  to  rise,  I  have  wounded  my  side,  which  now 
pains  me  more  than  it  did." 

About  this  time,  one  of  the  citizens  of  Alexandria,  who 
had  heard  of  the  outrage,  addressed  the  general,  and  said: 
"  Sir,  if  you  will  pardon  me,  in  case  I  am  tried  and  con 
victed,  I  will  kill  Randolph  for  this  insult  to  you,  in  fifteen 
minutes !" 

"No  sir,"  said  the  president,  "I  cannot  do  that!     I 


184  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

want  no  man  to  stand  between  me  and  my  assailants,  and 
none  to  take  revenge  on  my  account.  Had  I  been  pre 
pared  for  this  cowardly  villain's  approach,  I  can  assure 
you  all,  that  he  would  never  have  the  temerity  to  under 
take  such  a  thing-  again." 

General  Jackson  had  for  some  time  been  firmly  im 
pressed  with  the  belief  that  the  public  deposits  with  the 
United  States  Bank  were  far  from  being  safe,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1833  he  decided  to  cause  them  to  be  removed. 
At  tne  close  of  the  previous  session  of  Congress,  a  resolu 
tion  was  adopted  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  declar 
ing  that  they  might  be  safely  continued  with  the  bank  ; 
but,  in  the  vacation,  circumstances  transpired  connected 
with  the  speculations  of  the  bank,  which,  as  the  president 
thought,  called  for  prompt  action.  Mr.  Duane,  the  Se 
cretary  of  the  Treasury,  refused  to  carry  out  the  wishes 
of  the  president,  and  he  was  forthwith  removed,  to  make 
room  for  Mr.  Taney,  then  Attorney-General,  and  after 
wards  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  deposits 
were  withdrawn  from  the  bank  in  October,  and  the  con 
test  between  the  friends  of  that  institution  and  the  ad 
herents  of  General  Jackson  was  renewed  with  increased 
asperity  and  violence.  At  the  next  session  of  Congress 
the  subject  was  brought  up,  and  for  weeks  formed  the 
principal  topic  of  discussion.  Several  very  able  speeches 
were  made  by  the  leading  politicians  belonging  to  the  two 
parties.  On  the  2Sth  of  March,  a  resolution  was  adopted 
in  the  Senate,  which  had  been  offered  by  Mr.  Clay,  ex 
pressing  the  opinion  that  the  president,  in  his  proceedings 
in  relation  to  the  public  revenue,  had  "assumed  upon 
himself  authority  and  power  not  conferred  by  the  consti 
tution  and  laws,  but  in  derogation  of  both."  On  the  15th 
of  April  following,  the  president  sent  a  message  to  the 
Senate,  respectfully  protesting  against  their  impeachment 
of  his  official  acts,  and  requesting  his  communication  to  be 
entered  on  the  journals.*  The  controversy  between  the 
president  and  Senate  was  carried  so  far,  that  that  body 
refused  to  confirm  a  large  number  of  his  appointments,  in 
many  instances  solely  upon  political  grounds.  At  several 

*  See  page  2R4. 


HIS   FINAL    RETIREMENT.  185 

subsequent  sessions,  the  removal  of  the  deposits  was  dis 
cussed  in  Congress.  Mr.  Benton,  of  Missouri,  at  an  early 
day,  made  a  movement  in  favor  of  expunging  the  resolu 
tion  of  censure  from  the  journals  of  the  senate.  After 
several  ineffectual  attempts,  a  vote  to  that  effect  was 
adopted  in  the  Senate,  in  conformity  with  the  expressions 
of  several  public  meetings,  and  the  instructions  of  the  legis 
latures  of  different  states.  The  resolution  was  ordered  to  be 
expunged,  by  drawing  black  lines  across  and  around  it. 

In  his  annual  message  on  the  3d  cf  December,  1833, 
General  Jackson  informed  Congress  that  ifee  French  go 
vernment  had  failed  to  pay  the  instalment  required  by  the 
stipulations  of  the  convention  concluded  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1831.  At  the  next  session  he  again  called  their  attention 
to  the  continued  delay  in  the  payment  of  the  money,  and 
recommended  the  passage  of  a  law  authorizing  reprisals 
upon  French  property,  in  case  provision  should  not  be 
made  for  it  at  the  appi arching  session  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies.  The  prompt  and  decisive  tone  of  the  president's 
message  startled  the  chivalric  feelings  of  the  French 
nation.  The  passports  of  the  American  minister  were 
tendered  to  him,  and  a  serious  rupture  was  confidently 
anticipated.  The  unyielding  firmness  of  General  Jackson, 
and  the  sense  of  justice  which  soon  prevailed  in  the  French 
Chamber,  averted  the  danger,  and  restored  the  peace  and 
harmony  previously  existing  between  the  two  nations. 

Nothing  of  unusual  interest  occurred  during  the  admi 
nistration  of  General  Jackson,  after  the  amicable  settlement 
of  the  difficulty  with  France.  The  severe  panic  which 
followed  the  derangement  of  the  currency,  consequent  upon 
the  efforts  of  the  bank  to  procure  a  renewal  of  its  charter, 
was  followed  by  a  season  of  unexampled  prosperity.  In 
1835,  the  public  debt  was  entirely  liquidated;  and  on  the 
final  retirement  of  General  Jackson  to  private  life,  in  the 
spring  of  1837,  he  issued  a  farewell  address  to  the  Ame 
rican  people,  setting  forth  the  principles  upon  which  he 
had  conducted  the  affairs  of  government,  and  congratulat 
ing  them  on  the  peace  and  happiness  which  they  enjoyed.* 

*  See  page  350. 


186  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1837.  Ill  health  of  General  Jackson — Arrival  at  the  Hermitage — 
Influence  with  his  party— Friendly  to  the  annexation  of  Texas— 
His  occupations — Embarrassed  in  his  pecuniary  affairs — Refunding 
of  the  fine  imposed  by  Judge  Hall — Failure  of  his  health — His  last 
illness — His  Christian  resignation  and  death — Honors  paid  to  his 
memory — Remarks  of  Reverdy  Johnson — Speech  of  Daniel  Web 
ster — Character  of  Jackson — His  qualifications  as  a  soldier  and 

.  statesman — Attachment  to  his  friends — His  personal  appearance — 
His  patriotism.  1845. 

A  SHORT  time  previous  to  the  termination  of  his  official 
career,  General  Jackson  was  attacked  with  a  severe  he 
morrhage  of  the  lungs,  which  for  some  days  incapacitated 
him  from  attending  to  business.  He  recovered,  however, 
sufficiently  to  be  present  at  the  inauguration  of  his  suc 
cessor,  and  take  part  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  day.  On 
his  arrival  at  the  Hermitage  he  was  quite  weak  and  infirm, 
but  the  relaxation  from  mental  labor,  and  the  kind  atten 
tions  of  his  adopted  children,  soon  restored  him  to  com 
parative  strength  and  health,  though  he  still  suffered  much 
from  the  diseased  state  of  his  lungs.  The  various  questions 
of  public  policy  which  afterwards  agitated  the  country, 
and  the  movements  of  the  two  great  political  parties  in 
the  nation,  did  not  fail  to  excite  his  attention.  His  in 
fluence  was  silently  exerted  and  felt  in  our  national  poli 
tics  up  to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  still  regarded  as 
the  leader  of  the  party  which  had  so  long  looked  up  to 
him  as  its  head,  and  on  all  important  occasions  was  con 
sulted  with  as  much  veneration  as  were  the  oracles  of  olden 
time.  He  was,  from  the  first,  the  warm  and  steadfast 
friend  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  Union.  In  the 
settlement  of  the  Oregon  boundary  question  he  took  a  deep 
interest,  though  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  boundary  finally 
adjusted. 


HIS   LAST    ILLNESS.  187 

Most  of  General  Jackson's  time,  in  his  retirement,  was 
spent  in  minister^  to  the  comforts  of  those  who  were 
d i  pendent  on  him,  and  in  overseeing  the  labor  performed 
on  his  estate.  He  was  a  sincere  and  devout  communicant 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  he  erected  a  house  of 
worship  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Hermitage,  for 
the  convenience  of  his  family  and  servants.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  life  he  became  involved  in  his  circumstances, 
on  account  of  some  endorsements  for  a  friend.  When 
his  condition  was  made  known,  several  offers  were  made 
to  extend  him  such  pecuniary  assistance  as  he  might  need. 
At  the  session  of  1844-5,  a  law  was  passed  by  Congress, 
providing  for  the  reimbursement  of  the  fine  of  one  thou 
sand  dollars  paid  by  General  Jackson  at  New  Orleans,  with 
interest  from  the  time  of  its  original  payment.  This  act 
of  justice,  tardy  as  it  was,  was  peculiarly  grateful  to  the 
feelings  of  the  general,  and  it  served  to  sweeten  the  clos 
ing  reflections  of  his  life. 

For  several  months  previous  to  his  decease,  the  health 
of  General  Jackson  began  rapidly  to  fail.  His  constitu 
tion  had  been  originally  strong  and  vigorous,  but  exposure 
and  privation  during  his  Indian  campaigns  seriously  im 
paired  his  physical  vigor.  A  gentleman  who  visited  him 
in  the  month  of  May,  1845,  states  that  he  had  not,  at  that 
time,  been  in  a  condition  to  lie  down  for  four  months.  His 
whole  system  was  invaded  with  dropsy;  he  had  not  suffi 
cient  strength  to  stand  ;  and  his  disease  was  attended  with 
so  much  bodily  pain,  that  he  could  obtain  no  sleep  except  by 
means  of  opiates.  While  in  this  dying  condition,  his  por 
trait  was  taken  by  an  artist  employed  for  the  purpose  by 
Louis  Phillippe,  King  of  the  French,  who  designed  to  place 
it  by  the  side  of  Washington's  in  his  gallery.  He  was  con 
stantly  cheered  by  the  visits  of  his  old  and  attached  per 
sonal  friends  ;  and  the  consolations  of  religion,  to  which  he 
loved  to  resort,  were  a  never-failing  solace  to  his  heart. 
On  one  occasion  he  remarked  to  a  clergyman  who  called 
upon  him,  that  he  was  "in  the  hands  of  a  merciful  God. 
I  have  full  confidence,"  said  he,  "in  his  goodness  and 
mercy.  My  lamp  of  life  is  nearly  out,  and  the  last  glim 
mer  is  come.  I  am  ready  to  depart  when  called.  The 
9 


188  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

Bible  is  true.  The  principles  and  statutes  of  that  holy  book 
have  been  the  rule  of  my  life,  and  I  have  tried  to  conform 
to  its  spirit  as  near  as  possible.  Upon  that  sacred  volume 
I  rest  my  hope  of  eternal  salvation,  through  the  merits 
and  blood  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Savior,  Jesus  Christ." 

General  Jackson  continued  to  grow  more  feeble,  until 
Sunday,  the  8th  day  of  June,  1845.  Early  in  the  mom- 
ing  of  that  day  he  swooned,  and  for  some  time  was  sup 
posed  to  be  dead.  On  reviving  from  the  swoon,  he  became 
conscious  that  the  spark  of  life  was  nearly  extinguished, 
and,  expecting  to  die  before  another  sun  would  set,  he  sent 
for  his  family  and  domestics  to  come  and  receive  his  dying 
benediction.  His  remarks,  it  is  said,  were  ful]  of  affection 
and  Christian  resignation.  His  mind  retained  its  vigor  to 
the  last,  and  his  dying  moments,  even  more  than  his  earlier 
years,  exhibited  its  highest  intellectual  light.  To  his  fa 
mily  and  friends  he  said  : — "  Do  not  grieve  that  I  am  about 
to  leave  you,  for  I  sha1!  be  better  off.  Although  I  am  af 
flicted  with  pain  and  bodily  suffering,  they  are  as  nothing 
compared  with  the  sufferings  of  the  Savior  of  the  world, 
who  was  put  to  death  on  the  accursed  tree.  I  have  ful 
filled  my  destiny  on  earth,  and  it  is  better  that  this  worn- 
out  frame  should  go  to  rest,  and  my  spirit  take  up  its  abode 
with  the  Redeemer." 

He  continued  thus  to  address  his  relatives  and  friends,  at 
intervals,  during  the  forenoon,  and,  as  the  attending  physi 
cian,  Dr.  Esleman,  remarked,  his  confidence  and  faith  in 
the  great  truths  of  religion  seemed  to  be  more  firm  and 
unwavering  than  any  man  he  had  ever  seen  die.  He  ex 
pressed  a  desire  that  Dr.  Edgar,  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
should  preach  his  funeral  sermon,  and  that  no  pomp  or 
parade  should  be  made  over  his  grave.  After  years  of 
patient  suffering  and  endurance,  the  aged  soldier  and 
statesman  thus  quietly  sunk  into  his  last  sleep.  Cairn 
and  self-collected,  though  oppressed  with  pain,  he  yielded 
up  his  spirit  with  the  resignation  of  a  Christian.  His 
death  took  place  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  June,  in 
the  sevefity-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

The  death  of  such  a  man,  of  one  who  had  occupied  so 
prominent  a  place  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  and  rendered 


RESPECT   TO   HIS   MEMORY.  189 

so  many  signal  services  to  his  country,  was  not  to  be  re 
garded  as  a  thing  of  idle  moment.  Political  opponents 
and  friends  met  together  like  brethren,  to  offer  the  last 
tribute  to  his  memory ;  ajid  the  rancorous  hostility  of  the 
partisan  was  forgotten,  as  he  bent  over  the  grave  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  involuntarily  bedewed  it  with  his 
tears.  Throughout  the  union,  the  respect  paid  to  his 
memory  was  both  solemn  and  impressive.  All  the  courts 
and  public  bodies  in  session  adjourned  on  receiving  the 
intelligence.  Funeral  processions  were  formed,  and  ad 
dresses  delivered  in  all  the  principal  cities ;  and  nothing 
was  left  undone  to  evince  the  sincere  regard  for  his  cha 
racter  which  was  universally  entertained.  Among  the 
eloquent  tributes  which  the  occasion  elicited,  the  annexed 
remarks  of  Reverdy  Johnson,  a  senator  in  Congress  from 
the  state  of  Maryland,  and  a  political  opponent  of  General 
Jackson,  before  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  that  state,  richly 
deserve  a  perusal : 

"  May  it  please  the  court — I  rise  to  announce  to  the 
court  the  death  of  a  great  American,  and  to  ask,  in  behalf 
of  my  brethren  of  the  bar,  as  a  respect  justly  due  to  his 
memory,  that  the  court  at  once  adjourn. 

"  ANDREW  JACKSON  is  no  more.  A  long  and  trying  ill 
ness  is  at  last  terminated,  and  his  spirit  has  winged  its 
flight,  I  trust,  to  heaven.  The  life  and  character  of  the 
deceased  have  for  many  years  filled  a  large  space  in  the 
public  eye  ;  and  perhaps  no  man  has  ever  lived  amongst 
us,  whose  popularity  or  influence  with  the  American 
people  was  deeper  seated,  or  more  commanding. 

"I  need  not  inform  the  court,  that  the  administration  of 
the  general  government  by  this  eminent  citizen,  during 
his  presidency,  in  almost  every  particular  of  it,  except  his 
noble  stand  against  the  perilous  and  unconstitutional  doc 
trine  of  nullification,  did  not  receive  the  approval  of  a  large 
political  party  of  the  country ;  but  as  a  member  of  that 
party,  I  never  doubted  that  he  was  in  heart  and  soul  a 
patriot,  deeply  attached  to  the  free  institutions  under 
which  we  live,  and  ardently  solicitous  for  the  honor  and 
prosperity  of  the  nation. 


190  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

"  It  is  a  redeeming  trait  in  the  character  of  our  people, 
and  greatly  diminishes  the  mischiefs  of  mere  party  spirit, 
that  we  instinctively,  when  the  nation  is  called  upon  to 
vindicate  its  honor,  are  found,  tOj*.  man,  united  ;  and  that 
on  the  death  of  a  great  and  patriotic  citizen,  we  are  alike 
found,  without  regard  to  party,  joining  in  a  national  la 
mentation  at  the  afflictive  event. 

"  In  this  instance,  there  were  in  the  eventful  life  of  the  de 
ceased,  deeds  of  service  rendered  the  country,  by  which  we 
all  feel  that  the  national  glory  was  eminently  subserved. 

"  His  military  course  seemed  to  know  no  disaster.  With 
him,  to  go  to  battle  was  to  go  to  victory.  Whether  war 
ring  at  the  head  of  American  troops,  with  the  cunning 
and  daring  of  savage  valor,  or  with  the  bravery  and  skill 
of  the  best  disciplined  army  of  the  European  world,  the 
result  was  ever  the  same — a  TRIUMPH.  The  crowning 
glory  of  his  military  life,  the  BATTLE  OF  Ni*w  ORLEANS, 
whilst  it  immeasurably  increases  the  fame  of  our  arms, 
will,  in  all  future  time,  serve  as  a  beacon  to  protect  our 
soil  from  hostile  tread. 

"  In  honor  of  such  a  man,  it  is  fit  that,  in  every  portion 
of  this  great  nation,  due  respect  should  be  shown  to  his 
memory  ;  and  I  therefore  move  the  court  to  gratify  the 
feelings  of  the  bar,  as  I  am  sure  they  will  their  own,  by 
adjourning  for  the  day." 

When  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of  General  Jackson 
reached  New  York,  a  special  meeting  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  of  which  the  deceased  \\ras  a  member, 
was  called,  in  order  to  express  their  regret  at  the  national 
bereavement,  and  adopt  measures  for  evincing  their  re 
spect.  Daniel  Webster  was  present  at  the  meeting,  and 
made  the  following  remarks,  alike  creditable  to  his  head 
and  his  heart. 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  natural  or  proper,  than  that 
this  society  should  take  a  respectful  notice  of  the  decease 
of  so  distinguished  a  member  of  its  body.  Accustomed 
occasionally  to  meet  the  society,  and  to  enjoy  the  com 
munications  that  are  made  to  it,  and  proceed  from  it,  illus 
trative  of  the  history  of  the  country  and  its  government, 


REMARKS    OF    DANIEL  WEBSTER.  191 

I  have  pleasure  in  being  present  at  this  time  also,  and  on 
this  occasion,  in  which  an  element  so  mournful  mingles 
itself.  General  Andrew  Jackson  has  been  from  an  early 
period  conspicuous  in  the  service  and  in  the  councils  of 
the  country,  though  not  without  long  intervals,  so  far  as 
respects  his  connection  with  the  general  government.  It 
is  fifty  years,  I  think,  since  he  was  a  member  of  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  and  at  the  instant,  sir,  I  do  not 
know  whether  there  be  living  an  associate  of  General 
Jackson  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  at  that  day,  with  the  exception  of  the  distinguished 
and  venerable  gentleman  who  is  now  president  of  this 
society.  I  recollect  only  of  the  Congress  of  '96,  at  this 
moment  now  living,  but  one — Mr.  Gallatin — though  I 
may  be  mistaken.  General  Jackson,  Mr.  President,  while 
he  lived,  and  his  memory  and  character,  now  that  he  is 
deceased,  are  presented  to  his  country  and  the  world 
in  different  views  and  relations.  He  was  a  soldier — a 
general  officer — and  acted  no  unimportant  part  in  that 
capacity.  He  was  raised  by  repeated  elections  to  the 
highest  stations  in  the  civil  government  of  his  country, 
and  acted  a  part  certainly  not  obscure  or  unimportant  in 
that  character  and  capacity. 

"  In  regard  to  his  military  services,  I  participate  in  the 
general  sentiment  of  the  whole  country,  and  I  believe  of 
the/world.  That  he  was  a  soldier  of  dauntless  courage — 
great  daring  and  perseverance — an  officer  of  skill,  and 
arrangement,  and  foresight,  are  truths  universally  admitted. 
During  the  period  in  which  he  administered  the  general 
government  of  the  country,  it  was  my  fortune,  during  the 
whole  period  of  it,  to  be  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  as  it  is  well  known,  it  was  my  mis 
fortune  not  to  be  able  to  concur  with  many  of  the  most 
important  measures  of  his  administration.  Entertaining 
nimself,  his  own  views,  and  with  a  power  of  impress 
ing  them,  to  a  remarkable  degree,  upon  the  conviction 
and  aoprobation  of  others,  he  pursued  such  a  course  as 
he  thought  expedient  in  the  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed.  Entertaining  on  many  questions  of  great 
importance,  different  opinions,  it  was  of  course  my  mis- 


192  LIFE  OF  JACKSON. 

fortune  to  differ  from  him,  and  that  difference  gave  me 
great  pain,  because,  in  the  whole  course  of  my  public 
life,  it  has  been  far  more  agreeable  to  me  to  support  the 
measures  of  the  government,  than  to  be  called  upon  by  my 
judgment,  and  sense  of  what  is  to  be  done,  to  oppose  them. 
I  desire  to  see  the  government  acting  with  a  unity  of 
spirit  in  all  things  relating  to  its  foreign  relations,  espe 
cially,  and  generally  in  all  great  measures  of  domestic 
policy,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  exercise  of  perfec 
independence  among  its  members.  But  if  it  was  my  mis 
fortune  to  differ  from  General  Jackson  on  many,  or  most 
of  the  great  measures  of  his  administration,  there  were  oc 
casions,  and  those  not  unimportant,  in  which  I  felt  it  my 
duty,  and  according  to  the  highest  sense  of  that  duty,  to 
conform  to  his  opinions,  and  support  his  measures.  There 
were  junctures  in  his  administration — periods  which  I 
thought  important  and  critical — in  which  the  views  he 
thought  proper  to  adopt,  corresponded  entirely  with  my 
sentiments  in  regard  to  the  protection  of  the  best  interests 
of  the  country,  and  the  institutions  under  which  we  live ; 
and  it  was  my  humble  endeavor  on  these  occasions  to 
yield  to  his  opinions  and  measures,  the  same  cordial  sup 
port  as  if  I  had  not  differed  from  him  before,  and  expected 
never  to  differ  from  him  again. 

"  That  General  Jackson  was  a  marked  character — that 
he  had  a  very  remarkable  influence  over  other  men's 
opinions — that  he  had  great  perseverance  and  resolution 
in  civil  as  well  as  in  military  administration,  all  admit. 
Nor  do  I  think  that  the  candid  among  mankind  will  ever 
doubt  that  it  was  his  desire — mingled  with  whatsoever 
portion  of  a  disposition  to  be  himself  instrumental  in  that 
exaltation — to  elevate  his  country  to  the  highest  prosperity 
and  honor.  There  is  one  sentiment,  to  which  I  par 
ticularly  recur,  always  with  a  feeling  of  approbation  and 
gratitude.  From  an  earlier  period  of  his  undertaking  to 
administer  the  affairs  of  the  government,  he  uttered  a 
sentiment  dear  to  me — expressive  of  a  truth  of  which  1 
am  most  profoundly  convinced — a  sentiment  setting  forth 
the  necessity,  the  duty,  and  the  patriotism  of  maintaining 
the  union  of  these  states.  Mr.  President,  I  am  old  enough 


HIS   CHARACTER.  193 

to  recollect  the  deaths  of  all  the  presidents  of  the  United 
States  who  have  departed  this  life,  from  Washington 
down.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  death  of  an  individual, 
who  has  been  so  much  the  favorite  of  his  country,  and 
partaken  so  largely  of  its  regard  as  to  fill  that  high  office, 
always  produces — has  produced,  hitherto,  a  strong  im 
pression  upon  the  public  mind.  That  is  right.  It  is 
right  that  such  should  be  the  impression  upon  the  whole 
community,  embracing  those  who  particularly  approved, 
and  those  who  did  not  particularly  approve  the  political 
course  of  the  deceased. 

"  All  these  distinguished  men  have  been  chosen  of  their 
country.  They  have  fulfilled  their  station  and  duties  upon 
the  whole,  in  the  series  of  years  that  have  gone  before  us, 
in  a  manner  reputable  and  distinguished.  Under  their 
administration,  in  the  course  of  fifty  or  sixty  years,  the 
government,  generally  speaking,  has  prospered,  and  under 
the  government,  the  people  have  prospered.  It  becomes, 
then,  all  to  pay  respect  when  men  thus  honored  are  called 
to  another  world.  Mr.  President,  we  may  well  indulge 
the  hope  and  belief,  that  it  was  the  feeling  of  the  dis 
tinguished  person  who  is  the  subject  of  these  resolutions, 
in  the  solemn  days  and  hours  of  closing  life — that  it  was 
his  wish,  if  he  had  committed  few  or  more  errors  in  the  ad 
ministration  of  the  government,  that  their  influence  might 
cease  with  him ;  and  that  whatever  of  good  he  had  done, 
might  be  perpetuated.  Let  us  cherish  the  same  senti 
ment.  Let  us  act  upon  the  same  feeling ;  and  whatever 
of  true  honor  and  glory  he  acquired,  let  us  all  hope  that 
it  will  be  his  inheritance  for  ever!  And  whatever  of 
good  example,  or  good  principle,  or  good  administration, 
he  has  established,  let  us  hope  that  the  benefit  of  it  may 
also  be  perpetual." 

Andrew  Jackson  was,  indeed,  no  ordinary  man.  The 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  countrymen,  the 
respect  paid  to  his  memory  at  home  and  abroad,  are  suffi 
cient  to  confirm  it,  even  if  there  could  be  a  doubt.  In 
many  respects  he  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men 
that  ever  lived.  As  a  soldier,  he  was  prompt  and  reso- 


194  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

lute,  stern  and  inflexible.  Wiih  an  intuitive  sagacity,  he 
foresaw  danger,  and  was  always  prepared  against  it.  His 
thoughts  and  perceptions  were  rapid,  and  his  plans  were 
often  formed  and  executed  before  others  had  lime  for  de 
liberation.  It  was  this  celerity  in  his  movements  that 
secured  many  of  his  laurels.  His  courage  and  fortitude 
were  both  unquestioned.  The  principle  of  fear  did  not 
enter  into  his  composition.  He  certainly  could  not  have 
understood  the  meaning  of  the  word.  The  cheerfulnes 
with  which  he  shared  the  privations  of  his  soldiers,  shows 
that  he  possessed  an  entire  indifference  to  hardship  and 
suffering.  But  one  of  the  most  striking  features  in  his 
character  was  his  readiness  in  adapting  himself  to  every 
position  in  which  he  was  placed.  There  are  many  men 
who  can  do  well,  when  the  occasion  does  not  overmatch 
them ;  but  Jackson  always  rose  with  the  occasion  ;  and 
in  ihe  merest  personal  altercation,  the  same  commanding 
traits  were  exhibited,  which  sustained  themselves  in  a 
higher  and  nobler  flight,  on  the  field  of  battle,  where  the 
fate  of  nations  depended  on  the  issue  of  the  day. 

As  a  statesman,  General  Jackson  was  clear-headed  and 
sagacious.  When  he  had  once  determined  upon  a  par 
ticular  course,  where  any  important  principle  was  involved, 
he  could  not  be  swerved  from  what  he  conceived  to  be  just 
and  right.  He  never  shrunk  from  the  discharge  of  any 
public  duty,  and  was  always  ready  to  avow  any  and  every 
act  of  his  administration,  and  unshrinkingly  to  abide  the 
consequences.  Never  behind  his  party,  but  always  in  the 
advance,  he  eagerly  sought  for  opportunities  to  carry  out 
the  principles  by  which  he  was  guided.  In  private  life, 
Jackson  was  kind-hearted,  and  generous  in.  his  disposition. 
His  reputation  was  pure  and  unsullied.  He  abhorred 
every  thing  mean  and  grovelling,  and  cherished  an  instinc 
tive  hatred  for  what  was  dishonorable.  He  was  irritable 
in  his  temperament,  however,  and  easily  excited.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  the  impetuosity  of  his  disposition  fre 
quently  carried  him  beyond  the  limits  of  prudence  and 
moderation,  it  was  this  trait  in  his  character  which  saved 
New  Orleans  from  plunder  and  devastation.  His  attach 
ments  were  warm  and  sincere.  He  never  forgot  a 


HIS    CHARACTER.  195 

favor,  or  failed  to  remember  a  friend.  He  was  devotedly 
attached  to  his  country,  her  interests,  and  her  institutions. 
It  may  well  be,  that  flattery,  and  there  are  few  men  who 
cannot  be  swerved  by  its  seductions,  sometimes  induced 
him  to  commit  an  unintentional  wrong,  in  the  effort  to  favor 
the  wishes  of  some  active  and  influential  partisan ;  but  for 
all  that,  he  was  none  the  less  a  patriot. 

In  person,  General  Jackson  was  tall,  and  remarkably 
thin  and  erect.  His  weight  bore  no  proportion  to  his 
height ;  and  his  frame  did  not  appear  fitted  for  such  trials 
as  he  had  encountered.  His  features  were  large  ;  his 
eyes  dark-blue,  with  a  keen  and  strong  glance  ;  his  eye 
brows  arched  and  prominent ;  and  his  complexion,  that  of 
the  war-worn  soldier. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  anticipated,  perhaps,  that  full  and 
complete  justice  will  be  rendered  to  Andrew  Jackson  during 
the  present  generation.  Men  may  differ  in  regard  to  the 
propriety  of  his  conduct,  and  the  wisdom  of  his  measures, 
and  unintentionally  do  injustice  to  his  many  noble  qualities. 
Still,  it  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that  the  valuable  services 
rendered  to  his  country,  connected  though  they  be  with 
the  stern  and  high-handed  measures  adopted  by  his  iron 
will,  may  be  cherished  with  gratitude  and  respect ;  and 
that  the  soldier,  the  statesman,  the  patriot,  and  the  Chris 
tian,  may  be  honored  by  a  nation's  blessing,  and  remem 
bered  in  a  nation's  prayers. 
9* 


196  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Eulogy  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  General  Jacltson,  delivered 
at  Washington,  June  27,  1845.     By  the  Hon.  George  Bancroft. 

THE  men  of  the  American  Revolution  are  no  more  ! 
That  age  of  creative  power  has  passed  away.  The  last 
surviving  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  lias 
long  since  left  the  earth.  Washington  lies  near  his  own 
Potomac,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  his  servants. 
Adams,  the  Colossus  of  Independence,  reposes  in  the 
modest  grave-yard  of  his  native  region.  Jefferson  sleeps 
on  the  heights  of  his  own  Monticello,  whence  his  eye 
overlooked  his  beloved  Virginia.  Madison,  the  last  sur 
vivor  of  the  men  who  made  our  constitution,  lives  only  in 
our  hearts.  But  who  shall  say  that  the  heroes,  in  whom 
the  image  of  God  shone  most  brightly,  do  not  live  forever  ? 
They  were  filled  with  the  vast  conceptions  which  called 
America  into  being  ;  they  lived  for  those  conceptions,  and 
their  deeds  praise  them. 

We  are  met  to  commemorate  the  virtues  of  one  who 
shed  his  blood  for  our  independence,  took  part  in  winning 
the  territory  and  forming  the  early  institutions  of  the 
West,  and  was  imbued  with  all  the  great  ideas  which 
constitute  the  moral  force  of  our  country.  On  the  spot 
where  he  gave  his  solemn  fealty  to  the  people — here, 
where  he  pledged  himself  before  the  world,  to  freedom, 
to  the  constitution,  and  to  the  laws — we  meet  to  pay  our 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  last  great  name,  which 
gathers  round  itself  all  the  associations  that  form  the 
glory  of  America. 

South  Carolina  gave  a  birthplace  to  Andrew  Jackson. 
On  its  remote  frontier,  far  up  on  the  forest-clad  banks  of 
the  Catawba,  in  a  region  where  the  settlers  were  just 
beginning  to  cluster,  his  eye  first  saw  the  light  There 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  197 

ais  infancy  sported  in  the  ancient  forests,  and  his  mind 
eras  nursed  to  freedom  by  their  influence.  He  was  the 
youngest  son  of  an  Irish  emigrant  of  Scottish  origin,  who, 
two  years  after  the  gTeat  war  of  Frederic  of  Prussia,  fled 
to  America  for  relief  from  indigence  and  oppression. 
His  birth  was  in  1767,  at  a  time  when  the  people  of  our 
land  were  but  a  body  of  dependent  colonists,  scarcely 
more  than  two  millions  in  number,  scattered  along  an 
immense  coast,  with  no  army,  or  navy,  or  union  ;  and 
exposed  to  the  attempts  of  England  to  control  America 
by  the  aid  of  military  force.  His  boyhood  grew  up  in 
the  midst  of  the  contest  with  Great  Britain.  The  first 
great  political  truth  that  reached  his  heart  was,  that  all 
men  are  free  and  equal  ;  the  first  great  fact  that  beamed 
on  his  understanding  was,  his  country's  independence. 

The  strife,  as  it  increased,  came  near  the  shades  of  his 
upland  residence.  As  a  boy  of  thirteen, 'he  witnessed  the 
scenes  of  horror  that  accompany  civil  war  ;  and  when  but 
a  year  older,  with  an  elder  brother,  he  shouldered  his 
musket,  and  went  forth  to  strike  a  blow  for  his  country. 

Joyous  era  for  America  and  for  humanity!  But  for 
him,  the  orphan  boy  the  events  were  full  of  agony  and 
grief.  His  father  was  no  more.  His  oldest  brother  fell 
a  victim  to  the  war  of  the  Revolution ;  another  (his  com 
panion  in  arms)  died  of  wounds  received  in  their  joint 
captivity :  his  mother  went  down  to  the  grave  a  victim 
to  grief  and  efforts  to  rescue  her  sons ;  and  when  peace 
came,  he  was  alone  in  the  world,  with  no  kindred  to 
cherish  him,  and  little  inheritance  but  his  own  untried 
powers. 

The  nation  which  emancipated  itself  from  British  rule 
organizes  itself;  the  confederation  gives  way  to  the  con 
stitution  ;  the  perfecting  of  that  constitution — that  grand 
event  of  the  thousand  years  of  modern  history — is  accom 
plished!  America  exists  as  a  people,  gains  unity  as  a 
government,  and  takes  its  place  as  a  nation  among  the 
powers  ef  the  earth. 

The  next  great  office  to  be  performed  by  America  is 
the  taking  possession  of  the  wilderness.  The  magnifi- 


198  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

cent  western  valley  cried  out  to  the  civilization  of  popular 
power,  that  it  must  be  occupied  by  cultivated  man. 

Behold,  then,  our  orphan  hero,  sternly  earnest,  con 
secrated  to  humanity  from  childhood  by  sorrow,  having 
neither  father,  nor  mother,  nor  sister,  nor  surviving  bro 
ther;  so  young,  and  yet  so  solitary,  and  therefore  bound 
the  more  closely  to  collective  man — behold  him  elect  for 
his  lot,  to  go  forth  and  assist  in  laying  the  foundations  of 
society  in  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

At  the  very  time  when  Washington  was  pledging  his 
own  and  future  generations  to  the  support  of  the  popular 
institutions  which  were  to  be  the  light  of  the  human 
race — at  the  time  when  the  institutions  of  the  Old  World 
were  rocking  to  their  centre,  and  the  mighty  fabric  that 
had  come  down  from  the  middle  ages,  was  falling  in — 
the  adventurous  Jackson,  in  the  radiant  glory  and  bound 
less  hope  and  confident  intrepidity  of  twenty-one,  plunged 
into  the  wilderness,  crossed  the  great  mountain-barrier 
that  divides  the  western  waters  from  the  Atlantic,  fol 
lowed  the  paths  of  the  early  hunters  and  fugitives,  and, 
not  content  with  the  nearer  neighborhood  to  his  parent 
state,  went  still  further  and  further  to  the,  west,  till  he 
found  his  home  in  the  most  beautiful  region  on  the  Cum 
berland.  There,  from  the  first,  he  was  recognised  as  the 
great  pioneer ;  under  his  courage,  the  coming  emigrants 
were  sure  to  find  a  shield. 

The  lovers  of  adventure  began  to  pour  themselves  into 
the  territory,  whose  delicious  climate  and  fertile  soil  in 
vited  the  presence  of  social  man.  The  hunter,  with  his 
rifle  and  his  axe,  attended  by  his  wife  and  children ;  the 
herdsman,  driving  the  few  cattle  that  were  to  multiply  as 
they  browsed ;  the  cultivator  of  the  soil — all  came  to  the 
inviting  region.  Wherever  the  bending  mountains  opened 
a  pass;  wherever  the  buffaloes  and  the  beasts  of  the 
forest  had  made  a  trace,  these  sons  of  nature,  children 
of  humanity,  in  the  highest  sentiment  of  personal  free 
dom,  came  to  occupy  the  beautiful  wilderness  whose 
prairies  blossomed  everywhere  profusely  with  wild  flow 
ers  ;  whose  woods  in  spring  put  to  shame,  by  their  mag 
nificence,  the  cultivated  gardens  of  man. 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  199 

And  now  that  these  unlettered  fugitives,  educated 
only  by  the  spirit  of  freedom,  destitute  of  dead  letter 
erudition,  but  sharing  the  living  ideas  of  the  age,  had 
made  their  homes  in  the  west — what  would  follow? 
Would  they  degrade  themselves  to  ignorance  and  infidel 
ity  ?  Would  they  make  the  solitudes  of  the  desert  ex 
cuses  for  licentiousness  ?  Would  the  doctrines  of  freedom 
lead  them  to  live  in  unorganized  society,  destitute  of  laws 
and  fixed  institutions  ? 

At  a  time  when  European  society  was  becoming  broken 
in  pieces,  scattered,  disunited,  and  resolved  into  its  ele 
ments,  a  scene  ensued  in  Tennessee,  than  which  nothing 
more  beautifully  grand  is  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the 
race. 

These  adventurers  in  the  wilderness  longed  to  come 
together  in  organized  society.  The  overshadawing  genius 
of  their  time  inspired  them  with  good  designs,  and  filled 
them  with  the  counsels  of  wisdom.  Dwellers  in  the  for 
est,  freest  of  the  free,  bound  in  the  spirit,  they  came  up 
by  their  representatives,  on  foot,  on  horseback,  through 
the  forest,  along  the  streams,  by  the  buffalo  traces,  by 
the  Indian  paths,  by  the  blazed  forest  avenues,  to  meet 
in  convention  among  the  mountains  at  Knoxville,  and 
frame  for  themselves  a  constitution.  Andrew  Jackson 
was  there,  the  greatest  man  of  them  all — modest,  bold, 
determined,  demanding  nothing  for  himself,  and  shrinking 
from  nothing  that  his  heart  approved. 

The  convention  came  together  on  the  llth  day  of 
January,  1796,  and  finished  its  work  on  the  6th  day  of 
February.  How  had  the  wisdom  ol  the  Old  World  vainly 
tasked  itself  to  frame  constitutions,  that  could,  at  least,  be 
the  subject  of  experiment !  the  men  of  Tennessee,  in  less 
than  twenty-five  days,  perfected  a  fabric,  which,  in  its 
essential  forms,  was  to  last  for  ever.  They  came  together 
full  of  faith  and  reverence,  of  love  to  humanity,  of  con 
fidence  in  truth.  In  the  simplicity  of  wisdom,  they 
framed  their  constitution,  acting  under  higher  influences 
than  they  were  conscious  of — 

They  wrought  in  sad  sincerity, 
Themselves  from  God  they  could  not  free ; 


200  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

They  builded  better  than  they  knew  ; 
The  conscious  stones  to  beauty  grew. 

In  the  instrument  which  they  framed,  they  embodied 
their  faith  in  God,  in  the  immortal  nature  of  man.  They 
gave  the  right  of  suffrage  to  every  freeman ;  they  vindi 
cated  the  sanctity  of  reason,  by  giving  freedom  of  speech 
and  of  the  press;  they  reverenced  the  voice,  of  God,  as  it 
speaks  in  the  soul  of  man,  by  asserting  the  indefeasible 
right  of  man  to  worship  the  Infinite  according  to  his  con 
science;  they  established  the  freedom  and  equality  of 
elections;  and  they  demanded  from  every  future  legislator 
a  solemn  oath  "  never  to  consent  to  any  act  or  thing 
whatever,  that  shall  have  even  a  tendency  to  lessen  the 
rights  of  the  people." 

These  majestic  lawgivers,  wiser  than  the  Solons  and 
Lycurguses  and  Numas  of  the  Old  World — these  pro 
phetic  founders  of  a  state,  who  embodied  in  their  consti 
tution  the  sublimest  truths  of  humanity,  acted  without 
reference  to  human  praises. 

They  kept  no  special  record  of  their  proceedings ;  they 
took  no  pains  to  vaunt  their  deeds ;  and  when  their  work 
was  done,  knew  not  that  they  had  finished  one  of  the 
sublimest  acts  ever  performed  among  men.  They  left 
no  record,  as  to  whose  agency  was  conspicuous,  whose 
eloquence  swayed,  whose  generous  will  predominated; 
nor  should  we  know,  but  for  tradition,  confirmed  by  what 
followed  among  themselves. 

The  men  of  Tennessee  were  now  a  people,  and  they 
were  to  send  forth  a  man  to  stand  for  them  in  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  %ates — that  avenue  to  glory — that 
home  of  eloquence — the  citadel  of  popular  power;  and, 
with  one  consent,  they  united  in  selecting  the  foremost 
man  among  their  lawgivers — Andrew  Jackson. 

The  love  of  the  people  of  Tennessee  followed  him  to 
the  American  Congress,  and  he  had  served  but  a  single 
term,  when  the  state  of  Tennessee  made  him  one  of  its 
representatives  in  the  American  Senate,  where  he  sat 
under  the  auspices  of  Jefferson. 

Thus,  when  he  was  scarcely  more  than  thirty,  he  had 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  201 

guided  the  settlement  of  the  wilderness;  swayed  the 
deliberation  of  a  people  in  establishing  its  fundamental 
laws ;  acted  as  the  representative  of  that  people,  and  again 
as  the  representative  of  his  organized  state,  disciplined  to 
a  knowledge  of  the  power  of  the  people,  and  the  power 
of  the  states;  the  associate  of  republican  statesmen,  the 
friend  and  companion  of  Jefferson. 

The  men  who  framed  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  many  of  them,  did  not  know  of  the  innate  life  and 
self-preserving  energy  of  their  work.  They  feared  that 
freedom  could  not  endure,  and  they  planned  a  strong- 
government  for  its  protection. 

During  his  short  career  in  Congress,  Jackson  showed 
his  quiet,  deeply  seated,  innate,  intuitive  faith  in  human 
freedom,  and  in  the  institutions  of  freedom.  He  was 
ever,  by  his  votes  and  opinions,  found  among  those  who 
had  confidence  in  humanity;  and  in  the  great  division  of 
minds,  this  child  of  the  woodlands,  this  representative  of 
forest  life  in  the  west,  was  found  modestly  and  firmly  on 
the  side  of  freedom.  It  did  not  occur  to  him  to  doubt 
the  right  of  man  to  the  free  developement  of  his  powers ; 
it  did  not  occur  to  him  to  seek  to  give  durability  to  popu 
lar  institutions,  by  giving  to  government  a  strength  inde- 
pgndent  of  popular  will. 

fffirom  the  first,  he  was  attached  to  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  popular  power,  and  of  the  policy  that  favors 
it;  and  though  his  reverence  for  Washington  surpassed 
his  reverence  for  any  human  being,  he  voted  against  the 
address  from  the  House  of  Representatives  to  Washington 
on  his  retirement,  because  its  language  appeared  to  sanc 
tion  the  financial  policy  which  he  believed  hostile  to 
republican  freedom. 

During  his  period  of  service  in  the  Senate,  Jackson 
was  elected  major-general  by  the  brigadiers  and  field 
officers  of  the  militia  of  Tennessee.  Resigning  his  place 
in  the  Senate,  he  was  made  judge  of  the  supreme  court 
in  law  and  equity ;  such  was  the  confidence  in  his  integ 
rity  of  purpose,  his  clearness  of  judgment,  and  his  vigor 
of  will  to  deal  justly  among  the  turbulent  who  crowded 
into  the  new  settlements  of  Tennessee. 


202  tIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

Thus,  in  the  short  period  of  nine  years,  Andrew  Jack 
son  was  signalized  by  as  many  evidences  of  public  esteem 
as  could  fall  to  the  lot  of  man.  The  pioneer  of  the  wil 
derness,  the  defender  of  its  stations,  he  was  their  lawgiver, 
the  sole  representative  of  a  new  people  in  Congress,  the 
representative  of  the  state  in  the  Senate,  the  highest  in 
judicial  office.  He  seemed  to  be  recognised  as  their  first 
love  of  liberty,  the  first  in  the  science  of  legislation,  in 
judgment,  and  integrity. 

Fond  of  private  life,  he  would  have  resigned  the  judicial 
office;  but  the  whole  country  demanded  his  service. 
"  Nature,"  they  cried,  "  never  designed  that  your  powers 
of  thought  and  independence  of  mind  should  be  lost  in 
retirement."  But  after  a  few  years,  relieving  himself 
from  the  cares  of  the  bench,  he  gave  himself  to  the  activity 
and  the  independent  life  of  a  husbandman.  He  carried 
into  retirement  the  fame  of  natural  intelligence,  and  was 
cherished  as  "a  prompt,  frank,  and  ardent  soul."  His 
vigor  of  character  constituted  him  first  among  all  with 
whom  he  associated.  A  private  man  as  he  was,  his  name 
was  familiarly  spoken  round  every  hearth-stone  in  Ten 
nessee.  Men  loved  to  discuss  his  qualities.  All  discerned 
his  power ;  and  when  the  vehemence  and  impetuosity  of 
his  nature  were  observed  upon,  there  were  not  wanting 
those  who  saw,  beneath  the  blazing  fires  of  his  genius,  the 
solidity  of  his  judgment. 

His  hospitable  roof  sheltered  the  emigrant  and  the 
pioneer ;  a*nd,  as  they  made  their  way  to  their  new  homes, 
they  filled  the  mountain-sides  and  the  valleys  with  us 
praise. 

Connecting  himself,  for  a  season,  with  a  man  of  :isi- 
ness,  Jackson  soon  discerned  the  misconduct  of  his  n.sso- 
ciate.  It  marked  his  character,  that  he  insisted,  li.mself, 
on  paying  every  obligation  that  had  been  contracted ;  and 
rather  than  endure  the  vassalage  of  debt,  he  instantly 
parted  with  the  rich  domain  which  his  early  enterprise 
had  acquired — with  his  own  mansion — with  his  fields 
which  he  himself  had  first  tamed  to  the  ploughshare — 
with  the  forest  whose  trees  were  as  familiar  to  him  as  his 
friends — and  chose  rather  to  dwell,  for  a  time,  in  a  rude 
log-cabin,  in  the  pride  of  independence  and  integrity. 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  203 

On  all  great  occasions,  Jackson's  influence  was  deferred 
to.  When  Jefferson  had  acquired  for  the  country  the 
whole  of  Louisiana,  and  there  seemed  some  hesitancy,  on 
the  part  of  Spain,  to  acknowledge  our  possession,  the  ser 
vices  of  Jackson  were  solicited  by  the  national  administra 
tion,  and  were  not  called  into  full  exercise,  only  from  the 
peaceful  termination  of  the  incidents  that  occasioned  the 
summons. 

In  the  long  series  of  aggressions  on  the  freedom  of  the 
seas,  and  the  rights  of  the  American  flag,  Jackson  was  on 
the  side  of  his  country,  and  the  new  maritime  code  of 
republicanism.  In  his  inland  home,  where  the  roar  of  the 
breakers  was  never  heard,  and  the  mariner  was  never 
seen,  he  resented  the  continued  aggression  on  our  com 
merce  and  on  our  sailors. 

When  the  continuance  of  wrong  compelled  the  nation 
to  resort  to  arms,  Jackson,  led  by  the  instinctive  know 
ledge  of  his  own  greatness,  yet  with  a  modesty  that  would 
have  honored  the  most  sensitive  delicacy  of  nature,  con 
fessed  his  willingness  to  be  employed  on  the  Canada 
frontier ;  and  it  is  a  fact,  that  he  aspired  to  the  command 
to  which  Winchester  was  appointed.  We  may  ask,  what 
would  have  been  the  result,  if  the  command  of  the  north 
western  army  had,  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  been  intrust 
ed  to  a  man  who,  in  action,  was  ever  so  fortunate,  that 
his  vehement  will  seemed  to  have  made  destiny  capitulate 
to  his  designs  ? 

The  path  of  duty  led  him  in  another  direction.  On 
the  declaration  of  war,  twenty-five  hundred  volunteers 
had  risen  at  his  word  to  follow  his  standard;  but  by 
countermanding  orders  from  the  seat  of  government,  the 
movement  was  without  effect. 

A  new  and  great  danger  hung  over  the  West.  The 
Indian  tribes  were  to  make  one  last  effort  to  restore  it  to 
its  solitude,  and  recover  it  for  savage  life.  The  brave, 
relentless  Shawnees — who,  from  time  immemorial,  had 
strolled  from  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  to  the  rivers  of  Ala 
bama — were  animated  by  Tecumseh  and  his  brother  the 
Prophet,  who  spoke  to  them  as  with  the  voice  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  and  aroused  the  Creek  nation  to  desperate 


204  LIFE    OP    JACKSON. 

massacres.  Who  has  not  heard  of  their  terrible  deeds, 
when  their  ruthless  cruelty  spared  neither  sex  nor  age  ? 
when  the  infant  and  its  mother,  the  planter  and  his  fam 
ily,  who  had  fled  for  refuge  to  the  fortress,  the  garrison 
that  capitulated — all  were  slain,  and  not  a  vestige  of  de 
fence  was  left  in  the  country  ?  The  cry  of  the  West 
demanded  Jackson  for  its  defender;  and  though  his  arm 
was  then  fractured  by  a  ball,  and  hung  in  a  sling,  he 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  volunteers  of  Tennessee, 
and  resolved  to  terminate  forever  the  hereditary  struggle. 

Who  can  tell  the  horrors  of  that  campaign?  Who  c-m 
paint  rightly  the  obstacles  which  Jackson  overcame — 
mountains,  the  scarcity  of  untenanted  forests ;  winter,  the 
failure  of  supplies  from  the  settlements,  the  insubordina 
tion  of  troops,  mutiny,  menaces  of  desertion  ?  Who  can 
measure  the  wonderful  power  over  men,  by  which  his 
personal  prowess  and  attractive  energy  drew  them  in 
midwinter  from  their  homes,  across  mountains  and  mo 
rasses,  and  through  trackless  deserts  ?  WTho  can  describe 
the  personal  heroism  of  Jackson,  never  sparing  himself, 
beyond  any  of  his  men  encountering  toil  and  fatigue, 
sharing  every  labor  of  the  camp  and  of  the  march,  fore 
most  in  every  danger ;  giving  up  his  horse  to  the  in-valid 
soldier,  while  he  himself  waded  through  the  swamps  on 
foot  ?  None  equalled  him  in  power  of  endurance ;  and 
the  private  soldiers,  as  they  found  him  passing  them  on 
the  march,  exclaimed,  "He  is  as  tough  as  hickory." 
"Yes,"  they  cried  to  one  another,  "There  goes  Old 
Hickory!" 

Who  cannot  narrate  the  terrible  events  of  the  double 
battles  of  Emuckfaw,  or  the  glorious  victory  of  Tohopeka, 
where  the  anger  of  the  general  against  the  faltering  was 
more  appalling  than  the  war-whoop  and  rifle  of  the  sav 
age  ?  Who  can  rightly  conceive  the  field  of  Enotochopoo, 
where  the  general,  as  he  attempted  to  draw  the  sword  to 
cut  down  a  flying  colonel  who  was  leading  a  regiment 
from  the  field,  broke  again  the  arm  which  was  but  newly 
knit  together ;  and  quietly  replacing  it  in  the  sling,  with 
his  commanding  voice  arrested  the  flight  of  the  troops, 
and  himself  led  them  back  to  victory ! 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  205 

In  six  short  months  of  vehement  action,  the  most  terri 
ble  Indian  war  in  our  annals  was  brought  to  a  close ;  the 
prophets  were  silenced;,  the  consecrated  region  of  the 
Creek  nation  reduced.  {Through  scenes  of  blooc^  the 
avenging  hero  sought  only  the  path  to  peace.  jZOms, 
Alabama,  a  part  of  Mississippi,  a  part  of  his  own  Tennes 
see,  and  the  highway  to  the  Floridas,  were  his  gifts  to  the 
Union.  These  were  his  trophies^? 

Genius  as  extraordinary  as  military  events  can  call 
forth,  was  summoned  into  action  in  this  rapid,  efficient, 
and  most  fortunately  conducted  Avar. 

Time  would  fail  were  I  to  track  our  hero  down  the 
watercourses  of  Alabama  to  the  neighborhood  of  Pensa- 
cola.  Ho\v  he  "longed  to  plant  the  eagle  of  his  country 
on  its  battlements ! 

Time  would  fail,  and  words  be  wanting,  were  I  to  dwell 
on  the  magical  influence  of  his  appearance  in  New  Orleans. 
His  presence  dissipated  gloom  and  dispelled  alarm;  at 
once  he  changed  the  aspect  of  despair  into  a  confidence 
of  security  and  a  hope  of  acquiring  glory.  Every  man 
knows  the  tale  of  the  heroic,  sudden,  and  yet  deliberate 
daring  which  led  him,  on  the  night  of  the  23d  of  Decem 
ber,  to  precipitate  his  little  army  on  his  foes,  in  the  thick 
darkness,  before  they  grew  familiar  with  their  encamp 
ment,  scattering  dismay  through  veteran  regiments  of 
England,  and  defeating  them,  and  arresting  their  progress 
by  a  far  inferior  force. 

Who  shall  recount  the  counsels  of  prudence,  the  kind 
ling  words  of  eloquence  that  gushed  from  his  lips  to  cheer 
his  soldiers — his  skirmishes  and  battles,  till  that  eventful 
morning  when  the  day  at  Bunker's  Hill  had  its  fulfilment 
in  the  glorious  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  American 
independence  stood  before  the  world  in  the  majesty  of 
victorious  power. 

These  were  great  deeds  for  the  nation ;  for  himself  he 
did  a  greater.  Had  not  Jackson  been  renowned  for  the 
vehement  impetuosity  of  his  passions,  for  his  defiance  of 
others'  authority,  and  the  unbending  vigor  of  his  self-will  ? 
Behold  the  saviour  of  Louisiana,  all  garlanded  with  vic 
tory,  viewing  around  him  the  city  he  had  preserved,  the 


206  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

maidens  and  children  whom  his  heroism  had  protected, 
stand  in  the  presence  of  a  petty  judge,  who  gratifies  his 
wounded  vanity  by  an  abuse  of  his  judicial  power.  Every 
breast  in  the  crowded  audience  heaves  with  .indignation. 
He,  the  passionate,  the  impetuous — he  whose  power  was 
to  be  humbled,  whose  honor  questioned,  whose  laurels 
tarnished,  alone  stood  sublimely  serene;  and  when  the 
craven  judge  trembled  and  faltered,  and  dared  not  pro 
ceed,  himself,  the  arraigned  one,  bade  him  take  courage, 
and  stood  by  the  law  even  in  the  moment  when  the  law 
was  made  the  instrument  of  insult  and  wrong  on  him 
self — at  the  moment  of  his  most  perfect  claim  to  the  high 
est  civic  honors. 

His  country,  when  it  grew  to  hold  many  more  millions, 
the  generation  that  then  was  coming  in,  has  risen  up  to 
do  homage  to  the  noble  heroism  of  that  hour.  Woman, 
whose  feeling  is  always  right,  did  honor  from  the  first  to 
the  purity  of  his  heroism.  The  people  of  Louisiana,  to  the 
latest  hour,  will  cherish  his  name  as  their  greatest  bene 
factor. 

The  culture  of  Jackson's  mind  had  been  much  promoted 
by  his  services  and  associations  in  the  war.  His  discipline 
of  himself,  as  the  chief  in  command ;  his  intimate  relations 
with  men  like  Livingston;  the  wonderful  deeds  in  which 
he  bore  a  part;  all  matured  his  judgment  and  mellowed 
his  character. 

Peace  came  with  its  delights;  once  more  the  country 
rushed  forward  in  the  developement  of  its  powers ;  once 
more  the  arts  of  industry  healed  the  wounds  that  war  had 
inflicted;  and,  from  commerce  and  agriculture  and  manu 
factures,  wealth  gushed  abundantly  under  the  free  activity 
of  unrestrained  enterprise. 

And  Jackson  returned  to  his  own  fields  and  his  own 
pursuits,  to  cherish  his  plantation,  to  care  for  his  servants, 
to  look  after  his  stud,  to  enjoy  the  affection  of  the  most 
kind  and  devoted  wife,  whom  he  respected  with  the  gen 
tlest  deference,  and  loved  with  an  almost  miraculous 
tenderness. 

And  there  he  stood,  like  one  of  the  mightiest  forest 
trees  of  his  own  West,  vigorous  and  colossal,  sending  its 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  207 

summit  to  the  skies,  and  growing  on  its  native  soil  in  wild 
and  inimitable  magnificence,  careless  of  beholders.  From 
all  parts  of  the  country  he  received  appeals  to  his  political 
amoition,  and  the  severe  modesty  of  his  well-balanced 
mind  turned  them  all  aside.  He  was  happy  in  his  farm, 
happy  in  seclusion,  happy  in  his  family,  happy  within 
himself. 

But  the  passions  of  the  southern  Indians  were  not 
allayed  by  the  peace  with  Great  Britain;  and  foreign 
emissaries  were  still  among  them,  to  inflame  and  direct 
their  malignity.  Jackson  was  called  forth  by  his  country 
to  restrain  the  cruelty  of  the  treacherous  and  unsparing 
Seminoles.  It  was  in  the  train  of  the  events  of  this  war 
that  he  placed  the  American  eagle  on  St.  Marks,  and 
above  the  ancient  towers  of  St.  Augustine.  His  deeds  in 
that  war,  of  themselves,  form  a  monument  to  human  power, 
to  the  celerity  of  his  genius,  to  the  creative  fertility  of  his 
resources,  his  intuitive  sagacity.  As  Spain,  in  his  judg 
ment,  had  committed  aggression,  he  would  have  emanci 
pated  her  islands ;  of  the  Havana,  he  caused  the  reconnois- 
sance  to  be  made ;  and  with  an  army  of  five  thousand  men, 
he  stood  ready  to  guaranty  her  redemption  from  colonial 
thraldom. 

But  when  peace  was  restored,  and  his  office  was  accom 
plished,  his  physical  strength  sunk  under  the  pestilential 
influence  of  the  climate,  and,  fast  yielding  to  disease,  he 
was  borne  in  a  litter  across  the  swamps  of  Florida,  towards 
his  home.  It  was  Jackson's  character  that  he  never 
solicited  aid  from  any  one ;  but  he  never  forgot  those  who 
rendered  him  service  in  the  hour  of  need.  At  a  time 
when  all  around  him  believed  him  near  his  end,  his  wife 
hastened  to  his  side,  and,  by  her  tenderness  and  nursing 
care,  her  patient  assiduity,  and  the  soothing  influence  of 
devoted  love,  withheld  him  from  the  grave. 

He  would  have  remained  quietly  at  his  home  in  repose, 
but  that  he  was  privately  informed  his  good  name  was  to 
be  attainted  by  some  intended  congressional  proceedings. 
He  came,  therefore,  into  the  presence  of  the  people's  repre 
sentatives  at  Washington,  only  to  vindicate  his  name ;  and 
when  that  was  achieved,  he  was  once  more  communing 


208  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

with  his  own  thoughts  among  the  groves  of  the  Hermitage. 

It  was  not  his  own  ambition  which  brought  him  again 
to  the  public  view.  The  affection  of  Tennessee  compelled 
him  to  resume  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the  American  Senate, 
and,  after  years  of  the  intensest  political  strife,  Andrew 
Jackson  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 

Far  from  advancing  his  own  pretensions,  he  always 
kept  them  back,  and  had  for  years  repressed  the  solicita 
tions  of  his  friends  to  become  a  candidate.  He  felt  sensi 
bly  that  he  was  devoid  of  scientific  culture,  and  little 
familiar  with  letters;  and  he  never  obtruded  his  opinions, 
or  preferred  claims  to  place.  But,  whenever  his  opinion 
was  demanded,  he  was  always  ready  to  pronounce  it ;  and 
whenever  his  country  invoked  his  services,  he  did  not 
shrink  even  from  the  station  which  had  been  filled  by  the 
most  cultivated  njen  our  nation  had  produced. 

Behold,  then,  the  unlettered  man  of  the  West,  the 
nursling  of  the  wilds,  the  farmer  of  the  Hermitage,  little 
versed  in  books,  unconnected  by  science  with  the  tradition 
of  the  past,  raised  by  the  will  of  the  people  to  the  highest 
pinnacle  of  honor,  to  the  central  post  in  the  civilization  of 
republican  freedom,  to  the  station  where  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  would  watch  his  actions — where  his  words 
would  vibrate  through  the  civilized  world,  and  his  spirit 
be  the  moving-star  to  guide  the  nations.  What  policy 
will  ho  pursue  ?  What  wisdom  will  he  bring  with  him 
from  the  forest  ?  What  rules  of  duty  will  he  evolve  from 
the  oracles  of  his  own  mind  ? 

The  man  of  the  West  came  as  the  inspired  prophet  of 
the  West:  he  came  as  one  free  from  the  bonds  of  heredi 
tary  or  established  custom;  he  came  with  no  si'^nor  but 
conscience,  no  oracle  but  his  native  judgment;  and,  true 
to  his  origin  and  his  education — true  to  the  conditions  and 
circumstances  of  his  advancement,  he  valued  right  more 
than  usage ;  he  reverted  from  the  pressure  of  established 
interests  to  the  energy  of  first  principles. 

We  tread  on  ashes,  where  the  fire  is  not  yet  extin 
guished  ;  yet  not  to  dwell  on  his  career  as  President,  were 
to  leave  out  of  view  the  grandest  illustrations  of  his 
magnanimity. 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  209 

The  legislation  of  the  United  States  had  followed  the 
precedents  of  the  legislation  of  European  monarchies  ;fit 
was  the  office  of  Jackson  to  lift  the  country  out  of  the 
European  forms  of  legislation,  and  to  open  to  it  a  career 
rating  on  American  sentiment  and  American  freeddfrjj 
He  would  have  freedom  everywhere — freedom  under  t£e 
restraints  of  right ;  freedom  of  industry,  of  commerce,  of 
mind ;  of  universal  action ;  freedom,  unshackled  by  restric 
tive  privileges,  unrestrained  by  the  thraldom  of  monopolies. 

The  unity  of  his  mind  and  his  consistency  were  without 
a  parallel.  With  natural  dialectics,  he  developed  the 
political  doctrines  that  suited  every  emergency,  with  a 
precision  and  a  harmony  that  no  theorist  could  hope  to 
equal.  On  every  subject  in  politics — I  speak  but  a  fact — 
he  was  thoroughly  and  profoundly  and  immoveably  radi 
cal  ;  and  would  sit  for  hours,  and  in  a  continued  flow  of 
remark  make  the  application  of  his  principles  to  every 
question  that  could  arise  in  legislation,  or  in  the  interpret 
ation  of  the  constitution. 

His  expression  of  himself  was  so  clear,  that  his  influence 
pervaded  not  our  land  only,  but  all  America  and  all  man 
kind.  They  say  that,  in  the  physical  world,  the  magnetic 
fluid  is  so  diffused,  that  its  vibrations  are  discernible  sim 
ultaneously  in  every  part  of  the  globe.  So  it  is  with  the 
element  of  freedom.  And  as  Jackson  developed  its  doc 
trines  from  then*  source  in  the  mind  of  humanity,  the 
popular  sympathy  was  moved  and  agitated  throughout 
the  world,  till  his  name  grew  everywhere  to  be  the  sym 
bol  of  popular  power. 

Himself  the  witness  of  the  ruthlessness  of  savage  life, 
he  pla^-rrl  the  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  organized  states ;  and  it  is  the  result  of  his 
determined  policy  that  the  region  east  of  the  Mississippi 
has  been  transferred  to  the  exclusive  possession  of  culti 
vated  man. 

A  pupil  of  the  wilderness,  his  heart  was  with  the  j)io- 
neers  of  American  life  towards  the  setting  sun.  CNo 
American  statesman  has  ever  embraced  within  his  affec 
tions  a  scheme  so  liberal  for  the  emigrants  as  that  of 
Jackson.  He  longed  to  secure  to  them,  not  pre-emption 


210  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

rights  only,  but  more  than  pre-emption  rights.  He  longed 
to  invite  labor  to  take  possession  of  the  unoccupied  fields 
without  money  and  without  price;  with  no  obligation 
except  the  perpetual  devotion  of  itself  by  allegiance  to  its 
country  J  Under  the  beneficent  influence  of  his  opinion^, 
the  sons  of  misfortune,  the  children  of  adventure,  find 
their  way  to  the  uncultivated  West  There,  in  some 
wilderness  glade,  or  in  the  thick  forest  of  the  fertile  plain, 
or  where  the  prairies  most  sparkle  with  flowers,  they,  like 
the  wild  bee  which  sets  them  the  example  of  industry, 
may  choose  their  home,  mark  the  extent  of  their  posses 
sions,  by  driving  stakes  or  blazing  trees,  shelter  their  log- 
cabin  with  the  boughs  and  turf,  and  teach  the  virgin  soil 
to  yield  itself  to  the  ploughshare.  Theirs  shall  be  the 
soil,  theirs  the  beautiful  farms  which  they  teach  to  be 
productive.  Come,  children  of  sorrow!  you  on  whom  the 
Old  World  frowns ;  crowd  fearlessly  to  the  forests ;  plant 
your  homes  in  confidence,  for  the  country  watches  ovei 
you ;  your  children  grow  around  you  as  hostages,  and  the 
wilderness,  at  your  bidding,  surrenders  its  grandeur  of 
unless  luxuriance  to  the  beauty  and  loveliness  of  culture. 
Yet,  beautiful  and  lovely  as  is  this  scene,  it  still  by  far 
falls  short  of  the  ideal  which  lived  in  the  affections  of 
Jackson.  His  heart  was  ever  with  the  pioneer ;  his  policy 
ever  favored  the  diffusion  of  independent  freeholds 
throughout  the  laboring  classes  of  our  land. 

It  would  be  a  sin  against  the  occasion,  were  I  to  omit 
to  commemorate  the  deep  devotedness  of  Jackson  to  the 
cause  and  to  the  rights  of  labor.  It  was  for  the  welfare 
of  the  labouring  classes  that  he  defied  all  the  storms  of 
political  hostility.  t.He  longed  to  secure  to  labor  the  fruits 
of  its  own  industry ;  and  he  unceasingly  opposed  every 
system  which  tended  to  lessen  their  reward,  or  which 
exposed  them  to  be  defrauded  of  their  dues.-'  The  laborers 
may  bend  over  his  gra/e  with  affectionate  sorrow;  for 
never,  in  the  tide  of  time,  did  a  statesman  exist  more 
heartily  resolved  to  protect^  them  in  their  rights,  and  to 
advance  their  happiness.  I  J?or  their  benefit,  he  opposed 
partial  legislation ;  for  their  benefit,  he  resisted  all  artificial 
methods  of  controlling  labor,  and  subjecting  it  to  capital. 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  211 

It  was  for  their  benefit  that  he  loved  freedom  in  all  its 
forms — freedom  of  the  individual  in  personal  independence, 
freedom  of  the  states  as  separate  sovereignties.  He  never 
would  listen  to  counsels  which  tended  to  the  centraliza 
tion  of  power.  The  true  American  system  _  presupposes 
the  diffusion  of  freedom — organized  life  in  all  the  parts  of 
the  American  body  politic,  as  there  is  organized  life  in 
every  part  of  the  human  system.  Jackson  was  deaf  to 
ever)  counsel  which  sought  to  subject  general  labor  to  a 
central  will.  His  vindication  of  the  just  principles  of  the 
constitution  derived  its  sublimity  from  his  deep  conviction 
that  this  strict  construction  is  required  by  the  lasting  wel 
fare  of  tli3  great  laboring  classes  of  the  United  States. 

vTo  this  end,  Jackson  revived  the  tribunicial  power  of 
the  veto,  and  exerted  it  against  the  decisive  action  of  both 
branches  of  Congress,  against  the  votes,  the  wishes,  the 
entreaties  of  personal  and  political  fnends3  "  Show  me," 
was  his  reply  to  them,  "  show  me  an  express  clause  in  the 
constitution  authorizing  Congress  to  take  the  business  of 
state  legislatures  out  of  their  hands."  "  You  will  ruin  us 
all,"  cried  a  firm  partisan  friend,  "you  will  ruin  your  party 
and  jour  own  prospects."  "  Providence,"  answered  Jack- 
SQJI,  "will  take  care  of  me;"  and  he  persevered. 

lln  proceeding  to  discharge  the  debt  of  the  United 
States — a  measure  thoroughly  American — Jackson  fol 
lowed  the  example  of  his  predecessors ;  but  he  followed  it 
with  the  full  consciousness  that  he  was  rescuing  the  coun 
try  from  the  artificial  system  of  finance  which  had  pre 
vailed  throughout  the  world ;  and  with  him  it  formed  a 
part  of  a  system  by  which  American  legislation  was  to 
separate  itself  more  and  more  effectually  from  European 
precedents,  and  develope  itself  more  and  more,  according 
to  the  vital  principles  of  our  political  existence! 

The  discharge  of  the  debt  brought  with  it,  of  necessity, 
a  great  reduction  of  the  public  burdens,  and  brought,  of 
necessity,  into  view,  the  question,  ftow  far  America  should 
follow,  of  choice,  the  old  restrictive  system  of  high  duties, 
under  which  Europe  had  oppressed  America;  or  how  far 
she  should  rely  on  her  own  freedom  and  enterprise  and 
power,  defying  the  competition,  and  seeking  the  markets, 
and  receiving  the  products  of  the  worldTl 
10 


212  LIFE    OF    JACKSON, 

The  mind  of  Jackson,  on  this  subject,  reasoned  clearly, 
and  without  passion,  in  the  abuses  of  the  system  of 
revenue  by  excessive  imposts,  he  saw  evils  which  the  pub 
lic  mind  would  remedy;  and,  inclining  with  the  whole 
might  of  his  energetic  nature  to  the  side  of  revenue  duties, 
he  made  his  earnest  but  tranquil  appeal  to  the  judgment 
of  the  people. 

The  portions  of  country  that  suffered  most  severely 
from  a  system  of  legislation,  which,  in  its  extreme  charac 
ter,  as  it  then  existed,  is  now  universally  acknowledged  to 
have  been  unequal  and  unjust,  were  less  tranquil;  and 
rallying  on  the  doctrines  of  freedom,  which  made  our  gov 
ernment  a  limited  one,  they  saw  in  the  oppressive  acts  an 
assumption  of  power  which  was.  nugatory,  because  it  was 
exercised,  as  they  held,  without  authority  from  the  people. 

The  contest  that  ensued  was  the  most  momentous  in 
our  annals.  The  greatest  minds  of  America  engaged  in 
the  discussion.  Eloquence  never  achieved  sublimer  tri 
umphs  in  the  American  Senate,  than  on  those  occasions. 
The  country  became  deeply  divided ;  and  the  antagonist 
elements  were  arrayed  against  each  other  under  forms  of 
clashing  authority,  menacing  civil  war;  the  freedom  of 
the  several  states  was  invoked  against  the  power  of  the 
United  States ;  and  under  the  organization  of  a  state  in 
convention,  the  reserved  rights  of  the  people  were  sum 
moned  to  display  their  energy,  and  balance  the  authority 
and  neutralize  the  legislation  of  the  central  government. 
The  states  were  agitated  with  prolonged  excitement;  the 
friends  of  freedom  throughout  the  world  looked  on  with 
divided  sympathies,  praying  that  the  union  of  the  states 
might  be  perpetual,  and  also  that  the  commerce  of  the 
world  might  be  free. 

Fortunately  for  the  country,  and  fortunately  for  man 
kind,  Andrew  Jackson  was  at  the  helm  of  state,  the  repre 
sentative  of  the  principles  that  were  to  allay  excitement, 
and  to  restore  the  hopes  of  peace  and.  freedom.  By 
nature,  by  impulse,  by  education,  by  conviction,  a  friend 
to  personal  freedom — by  education,  political  sympathies, 
and  the  fixed  habit  of  his  mind,  a  friend  to  the  rights  of 
the  states — unwilling  that  the  lil'.Tty  of  ilie  states  should 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  213 

be  trampled  under  foot — unwilling  that  the  constitution 
should  lose  its  vigor  or  be  impaired,  he  rallied  for  the 
constitution :  and  in  its  name  he  published  to  the  world, 
"THE  UNION:  IT  MUST  BE  PRESERVED."     The  words  were 
a  spell  to  hush  evil  passion,   and  to  remove  oppression. 
Under  his  guiding  influence,   the  favored  interests,  which 
had  struggled  to  perpetuate  unjust  legislation,  yielded  to 
the  voice  of  moderation  and  reform ;  and  every  mind  that 
had  for  a  moment  contemplated   a  rupture  of  the  states, 
discarded  it  forever.     The  whole  influence  of  the  past  was 
invoked  in  favor  of  the  constitution;    from  the    council 
chambers  of  the  fathers  who  moulded  our  institutions — 
from  the  hall  where  American  independence  was  declared, 
the  clear,  loud  cry  was  uttered — "  The  Union :  it  must  be 
preserved."     From  every  battle-field  of  the  Revolution — 
from    Lexington    and   Bunker-Hill — from    Saratoga   and 
Yorktown — from   the   fields  of  Eutaw — from  the  cane- 
brakes  that  sheltered  the  men  of  Marion —  the  repeated, 
long-prolonged  echoes  came  up — "  The  Union :  it  must  be 
preserved."     From  every  valley  in  our  land — from  every 
cabin  on  the  pleasant  mountain  sides — from  the  ships  at 
our  wharves — from  the  tents  of  the  hunter  in  our  western 
most  prairies — from  the  living  minds  of  the  living  millions 
of  American  freemen — from  the  thickly  coming  glories  of 
futurity — the    shout   went    up   like   the  sound  of  many 
waters,  "The  Union:  it  must  be  preserved."     The  friends 
of  the  protective  system,   and  they  who  had  denounced 
the  protective  system — the  statesmen  of  the  north,   that 
had  wounded  the  constitution  in  their  love  of  centralism 
— the  statesmen  of  the  south,  whose  minds  had  carried  to 
its   extreme  the    theory   of  state   rights — all    conspired 
together ;  all  breathed  prayers  for  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Union.  \  Jlnder  the  prudent  firmness  of  Jackson — under 
the  mixture  of  justice  and  general  regard  for  all  interests, 
the  greatest  danger  to  our  institutions  was  turned  aside, 
and  mankind  was  encouraged  to  believe  that  our  Union, 
like  our  freedom,  is  imperishable^ 

The  moral  of  the  great  events  of  those  days  is  this  :^hat 
the  people  can  discern  right,  and  will  make  their  way  to 
a  knowledge  of  right;  that  the  whole,  human  mind,  and 


214  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

therefore  with  it  the  mind  of  the  nation,  has  a  continuous, 
ever  improving  existence ;  that  the  appeal  from  the  unjust 
legislation  of  to-day  must  be  made  quietly,  earnestly,  per- 
severingly,  to  the  more  enlightened  collective  reason  of 
to-morrow;  that  submission  is  due  to  the  popular  will,  in 
the  confidence  that  the  people,  when  in  error,  will  amend 
their  doings;  that  in  a  popular  government,  injustice  is 
neither  to  be  established  by  force,  nor  to  be  resisted  by 
force  ;  in  a  word,  that  the  Union,  which  was  constitutod  by 
consent,  must  be  preserved  by  love^3 
•  It  rarely  falls  to  the  happy  lot  of  a  statesman  to  receive 
such  unanimous  applause  from  the  heart  of  a  nation. 
Duty  to  the  dead  demands  that,  on  this  occasion,  the 
course  of  measures  should  not  pass  unnoLiced,  in  the  pro 
gress  of  which  his  vigor  of  character  most  clearly  ap 
peared,  and  his  conflict  with  opposing  parties  was  most 
violent  and  protracted. 

From  his  home  in  Tennessee,  Jackson  came  to  the  pre 
sidency  resolved  to  lift  American  legislation  out  of  the 
forms  of  English  legislation,  and  to  place  our  laws  on  the 

O  O  f  7  .          . 

currency  in  harmony  with  the  principles  of  our  govern 
ment.  He  came  to  the  presidency  of  the  United  Stales 
resolved  to  deliver  the  government  from  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  restore  the  regulation  of  exchanges 
to  the  rightful  depository  of  that  power — the  commerce 
of  the  country.  He  had  designed  to  declare  his  views  on 
this  subject  in  his  inaugural  address,  but  was  persuaded 
to  relinquish  that  purpose,  on  the  ground  that  it  belonged 
rather  to  a  legislative  message.  When  the  period  for 
addressing  Congress  drew  near,  it  was  still  urged  that  to 
attack  the  Bank  would  forfeit  his  popularity  and  secure 
his  future  defeat,  "  It  is  not,"  he  answered,  "  it  is  not  for 
myself  that  I  care."  It  was  urged  that  haste  was  unne 
cessary,  as  the  Bank  had  still  six  unexpended  years  of 
chartered  existence.  "I  may  die,"  he  replied,  "before 
another  Congress  comes  together,  and  I  could  not  rest 
quietly  in  my  grave,  if  I  failed  to  do  what  I  hold  so  essen 
tial  to"  the  liberty  of  my  country."  And  his  first  annual 
message  announced  to  the  country  that  the  Bank  was 
neither  constitutional  nor  expedient.  In  this  he  was  in 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  215 

advance  of  the  friends  about  him,  in  advance  of  Congress, 
and  in  advance  of  his  party.  This  is  no  time  for  the  anal 
ysis  of  measures,  or  the  discussion  of  questions  of  political 
economy :  on  the  present  occasion,  we  have  to  contemplate 
the  character  of  the  man. 

INever,  from  the  first  moment  of  his  administration  to 
the  last,  was  there  a  calm  in  the  strife  of  parties  on  the 
subject  of  the  currency ;  and  never,  during  the  whole 
period,  did  he  recede  or  falter.  Always  in  advance  of 
his  party — always  having  near  him  friends  who  cowered 
before  the  hardihood  of  his  courage,  he  himself,  through 
out  all  the  contest,  was  unmoved,  from  the  first  suggestion 
of  the  unconstitutionally  of  the  Bank,  to  the  moment 
when  he  himself,  first  of  all,  reasoning  from  the  certain 
tendency  of  its  policy,  with  singular  sagacity  predicted  to 
unbelieving  "  'ends,  the  coming  insolvency  of  the  insti 
tution,  *  '  * ' 

The  storm  throughout  the  country  rose  with  unexam 
pled  vehemence :  his  opponents  were  not  satisfied  with 
addressing  the  public  or  Congress,  or  his  cabinet;  they 
threw  their  whole  force  personally  on  him.  From  ail 
parts  men  pressed  around  him,  urging  him,  entreating 
him  to  bend.  Congress  was  flexible ;  many  of  his  personal 
friends  faltered;  the  impetuous  swelling  wave  rolled  on, 
without  one  sufficient  obstacle,  till  it  reached  his  presence ; 
but,  as  it  dashed  in  its  highest  fury  at  his  feet,  it  broke 
before  his  firmness.  The  commanding  majesty  of  his  will 
appalled  his  opponents  and  revived  his  friends.  He, 
himself,  had  a  proud  consciousness  that  his  will  was  indom 
itable.  Standing  over  the  rocks  of  the  Rip  Raps,  and 
looking  out  upon  the  ocean,  "Providence,"  said  he  to  a 
friend,  "Providence  may  change  my  determination;  but 
man  no  more  can  do  it,  than  he  can  remove  these  Rij 
Raps,  which  have  resisted  the  rolling  ocean  from  the 
beginning  of  time."  And  though  a  panic  was  spreading 
through  the  land,  and  the  whole  credit  system,  as  it  then 
existed,  was  crumbling  to  pieces  and  crashing  around  him, 
he  stood  erect,  like  a  massive  column,  which  the  heaps 
of  falling  ruins  could  not  break,  nor  bend,  nor  sway  from 
its  fixed  foundation.  » 


216  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

[At  this  point  Mr.  Bancroft  turned  to  address  the  Mayor 
of  the  city  of  Washington ;  but,  finding  him  not  present 
he  proceeded.] 

People  of  the  District  of  Columbia, — I  should  fail  of  r 
duty  on  this  occasion,  if  I  did  not  give  utterance  to  ycmi 
sentiment  of  gratitude  which  followed  General  Jacksor 
into  retirement.  Dwelling  amongst  you,  lie  desired  youi 
prosperity.  This  beautiful  city,  surrounded  by  heights 
the  most  attractive,  watered  by  a  river  so  magniiicent,  the 
home  of  the  gentle  and  the  cultivated,  not  less  than  the 
seat  of  political  power — this  city,  whose  site  Washing-tor 
had  selected,  was  dear  to  his  affections;  and  if  he  wor 
your  grateful  attachment  by  adorning  it  with  monument:- 
of  useful  architecture,  by  establishing  its  credit,  and 
relieving  its  burdens,  he  regretted  only  that  he  had  noi 
the  opportunity  to  have  connected  himself  still  more  inti 
mately  with  your  prosperity. 

As  he  prepared  to  take  his  final  leave  of  the  district 
the  mass  of  the  population  of  this  city,  and  the  masses 
that  had  gathered  from  around,  followed  his  carriage  in 
crowds.  All  in  silence  stood  near  him,  to  wish  him  adieu ; 
and  as  the  cars  started,  and  he  displayed  his  grey  hairs, 
as  he  lifted  his  hat  in  token  of  farewell,  you  stood  around 
with  heads  uncovered,  too  full  of  emotion  to  speak,  in 
solemn  silence  gazing  on  him  as  he  departed,  never  more 
to  be  seen  in  your  midst. 

Behold  the  warrior  and  statesman,  his  work  well  done, 
retired  to  the  Hermitage,  to  hold  converse  with  his  forests, 
to  cultivate  his  farm,  to  gather  around  him  hospitably  his 
friends !  Who  was  like  HIM  ?  He  was  still  the  loadstar 
of  the  American  people.  His  fervid  thoughts,  frankly 
uttered,  still  spread  the  flame  of  patriotism  through  the 
American  breast;  his  counsels  were  still  listened  to  with 
reverence ;  and,  almost  alone  among  statesmen,  he  in  his 
retirement  was  in  harmony  with  every  onward  movement 
of  his  time.  His  prevailing  influence  assisted  to  sway  a 
neighboring  nation  to  desire  to  share  our  institutions,  his 
e-ar  heard  the  footsteps  of  the  coming  millions  that  are  to 
gladden  our  western  shores ;  and  his  eye  discerned  in  the 
dim  distance  the  whitening  sails  that  are  to  enliven  the 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  217 

waters  of  the  Pacific  with  the  social  sounds  of  our  suc 
cessful  commerce.j 

Age  had  whitened  his  locks  and  dimmed  his  eye,  and 
spread  around  him  the  infirmities  and  venerable  emblems 
of  many  years  of  toilsome  service ;  but  his  heart  beat  as 
warmly  as  in  his  youth,  and  his  courage  was  as  firm  as  it 
had  ever  been  in  the  day  of  battle.  But  while  his  affec 
tions  were  still  for  his  friends  and  his  country,  his  thoughts 
were  already  in  a  better  world.  That  exalted  mind, 
which  in  active  life  had  always  had  unity  of  perception 
and  will,  which  in  action  had  never  faltered  from  doubt, 
and  which  in  council  had  always  reverted  to  first  princi 
ples  and  general  laws,  now  gave  itself  up  to  communing 
with  the  Infinite.  He  was  a  believer :  from  feeling,  from 
experience,  from  conviction.  Not  a  shadow  of  scepticism 
ever  dimmed  the  lustre  of  his  mind.  Proud  philosopher ! 
will  you  smile  to  know  that  Andrew  Jackson  perused 
reverently  his  Psalter  and  Prayer-book  and  Bible  ?  Know 
that  Andrew  Jackson  had  faith  in  the  eternity  of  truth, 
in  the  imperishable  power  of  popular  freedom,  in  the 
destinies  of  humanity,  in  the  virtues  and  capacity  of  the 
people,  in  his  country's  institutions,  in  the  being  and  over 
ruling  providence  of  a  merciful  and  ever-living  God. 

The  last  moment  of  his  life  on  earth  is  at  hand.  It  is 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord :  the  brightness  and  beauty  of 
summer  clothe  the  fields  around  him :  nature  is  in  her 
glory ;  but  the  sublimest  spectacle  on  that  day,  on  earth, 
was  the  victory  of  his  unblenching  spirit  over  death  itself. 

When  he  first  felt  the  hand  of  death  upon  him — 
"May  my  enemies,"  he  cried,  "find  peace;  may  the  liber 
ties  of  my  country  endure  for  ever!" 

When  his  exhausted  system,  under  the  excess  of  pain, 
sunk,  for  a  moment,  from  debility,  "  Do  not  weep,"  said 
he  to  his  adopted  daughter ;  "  my  sufferings  are  less  than 
those  of  Christ  upon  the  cross;"  for  he,  too,  as  a  disciple 
of  the  cross,  could  have  devoted  himself,  in  sorrow,  for 
mankind.  Feeling  his  end  near,  he  would  see  all  his 
family  once  more ;  and  he  spoke  to  them,  one  by  one,  in 
words  of  tenderness  and  affection.  His  two  little  grand 
children  were  absent  at  Sunday-school.  He  asked  for 


218  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

them;  and  as  they  came  he  prayed  for  them,  and  kissed 
them,  and  blessed  them.  His  servants  were  then  admit 
ted  :  they  gathered,  some  in  his  room,  and  some  on  the 
outside  of  the  house,  clinging  to  the  windows,  that  they 
might  gaze  and  hear.  And  that  dying  man,  thus  sur 
rounded,  in  a  gush  of  fervid  eloquence,  spoke  with  inspi 
ration  of  God,  of  the  Redeemer,  of  salvation  through  the 
atonement,  of  immortality,  of  heaven.  For  he  ever 
thought  that  pure  and  undefiled  religion  was  the  founda 
tion  of  private  happiness,  and  the  bulwark  of  republican 
institutions.  Having  spoken  of  immortality  in  perfect 
consciousness  of  his  own  approaching  end,  he  bade  them 
all  farewell.  "Dear  children,"  such  were  his  final  words, 
"  dear  children,  servants,  and  friends,  I  trust  to  meet  you 
all  in  heaven,  both  white  and  black — all,  both  white  and 
black."  And  having  borne  his  testimony  to  immortality, 
he  bowed  his  mighty  head,  and,  without  a  groan,  the 
spirit  of  the  greatest  man  of  his  age  escaped  to  the  bosom 
of  his  God. 

In  life,  his  career  had  been  like  the  blaze  of  the  sun  in 
the  fierceness  of  its  noon-day  glory ;  his  death  was  lovely 
as  the  mildest  sunset  of  a  summer's  evening,  when  the  sun 
goes  down  in  tranquil  beauty  without  a  cloud.  To  the 
majestic  energy  of  an  indomitable  will,  he  joined  a  heart 
capable  of  the  purest  and  most  devoted  love,  rich  in  the 
tenderest  affections.  On  the  bloody  battle-field  of  Toho- 
peka,  he  saved  an  infant  that  clung  to  the  breast  of  its 
dying  mother :  in  the  stormiest  moment  of  his  presidency, 
at  the  imminent  moment  of  decision,  he  paused  in  his  way 
to  give  good  counsel  to  a  poor  suppliant  that  had  come  up 
to  him  for  succor.  Of  the  strifes  in  which  he  was  en 
gaged  in  his  earlier  life,  not  one  sprung  from  himself,  but 
in  every  case  he  became  involved  by  standing  forth  as 
the  champion  of  the  weak,  the  poor,  and  the  defenceless, 
to  shelter  the  gentle  against  oppression,  to  protect  the 
emigrant  against  the  avarice  of  the  speculator.  His  gen 
erous  soul  revolted  at  the  barbarous  practice  of  duels,  and 
by  no  man  in  the  land  have  so  many  been  prevented. 

The  sorrows  of  those  that  were  near  to  him  went  deeply 
into  his  soul;  and  at  the  anguish  of  the  wife  whom  he 


BANCROFT'S  EULOGY.  219 

loved,  the  orphans  whom  he  adopted,  he  would  melt  into 
tears,  and  weep  and  sob  like  a  child. 
.pNo  man  in  private  life  so  possessed  the  hearts  of  all 
around  him :  no  public  man  of  this  century  ever  returned 
to  private  life  with  such  an  abiding  mastery  over  the 
affections  of  the  people.  No  man  with  truer  instinct 
received  American  ideas:  no  man  expressed  them  so 
completely,  or  so  boldly,  or  so  sincerely.  He  was  as  sin 
cere  a  man  as  ever  lived.  He  was  wholly,  always,  and 
altogether  sincere  and  true. 

Up  to  the  last,  he  dared  do  anything  that  it  was  right 
to  do.  He  united  personal  courage  and  moral  courage 
beyond  any  man  of  whom  history  keeps  the  record.  Be 
fore  the  nation,  before  the  world,  before  coming  ages,  he 
stands  forth  the  representative,  for  his  generation,  of  the 
American  mind.  And  the  secret  of  his  greatness  is  this : 
By  intuitive  conception,  he  shared  and  possessed  all  the 
creative  ideas  of  his  country  and  his  time.  He  expressed 
them  with  dauntless  intrepidity ;  he  enforced  them  with 
an  immoveable  will ;  he  executed  them  with  an  electric 
power  that  attracted  and  swayed  the  American  people. 
The  nation,  in  his  time,  had  not  one  great  thought^  of 
which  he  was  not  the  boldest  and  clearest  expositor,  ' 

History  does  not  describe  the  man  that  equalleH  mm 
in  firmness  of  nerve.  Not  danger,  not  an  army  in  battle 
array,  not  wounds,  not  wide-spread  clamor,  not  age,  not 
the  anguish  of  disease,  could  impair  in  the  least  degree 
the  vigor  of  his  steadfast  mind.  The  heroes  of  antiquity 
would  have  contemplated  with  awe  the  unmatched  hardi 
hood  of  his  character;  and  Napoleon,  had  he  possessed 
his  disinterested  will,  could  never  have  been  vanquished. 
Jackson  never  was  vanquished.  He  was  always  fortunate. 
He  conquered  the  wilderness;  he  conquered  the  savage; 
he  conquered  the  bravest  veterans  trained  in  the  battle 
fields  of  Europe;  he  conquered  everywhere  in  statesman 
ship  ;  and,  when  death  came  to  get  the  mastery  over  him, 
he  turned  that  last  enemy  aside  as  tranquilly  as  he  had 
done  the  feeblest  of  his  adversaries,  and  escaped  from 
earth  in  the  triumphant  consciousness  of  immortality. 

His  body  has  its  fit  resting-place  in  the  great  central 
10* 


220  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

valley  of  the  Mississippi ;  his  spirit  rests  upon  our  whole 
territory;  it  hovers  over  the  vales  of  Oregon,  and  guards, 
in  advance,  the  frontier  of  the  Del  Norte.  The  tires  of 
party  spirit  are  quenched  at  his  grave.  His  faults  and 
frailties  have  perished.  Whatever  of  good  he  has  done 
lives,  and  will  live  forever. 


INAUGURAL    ADDRESS.  221 


INAUGUR4L    ADDRESS. 

Delivered  March  4th,  1829. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS: — About  to  undertake  the  arduous 
duties  that  I  have  been  appointed  to  perform  by  the  choice 
of  a  free  people,  I  avail  myself  of  this  customary  and 
solemn  occasion  to  express  the  gratitude  which  their  con 
fidence  inspires,  and  to  acknowledge  the  accountability 
which  my  situation  enjoins.  While  the  magnitude  of 
their  interests  convinces  me  that  no  thanks  can  be  ade 
quate  to  the  honor  they  have  conferred,  it  admonishes  me 
that  the  best  return  I  can  make,  is  the  zealous  dedication 
of  my  humble  abilities  to  their  service  and  their  good. 

As  the  instrument  of  the  federal  constitution,  it  will 
devolve  upon  me,  for  a  stated  period,  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  United  States;  to  superintend  their  foreign  and 
confederate  relations ;  to  manage  their  revenue ;  to  com 
mand  their  forces :  and,  by  communications  to  the  legis 
lature,  to  watch  over  and  to  promote  their  interests 
generally.  And  the  principles  of  action  by  which  I  shall 
endeavor  to  accomplish  this  circle  of  duties,  it  is  now 
proper  for  me  briefly  to  explain. 

In  administering  the  laws  of  Congress,  I  shall  keep 
steadily  in  view  the  limitations  as  well  as  the  extent  of 
the  executive  power,  trusting  thereby  to  discharge  the 
functions  of  my  office  without  transcending  its  authority. 
With  foreign  nations  it  will  be  my  study  to  preserve 
peace,  and  to  cultivate  friendship  on  fair  and  honorable 
terms;  and  in  the  adjustment  of  any  differences  that  may 
exist  or  arise,  to  exhibit  the  forbearance  becoming  a  pow 
erful  nation,  rather  than  the  sensibility  belonging  to  a 
gallant  people. 

In  such  measures  as  I  may  be  called  on  to  pursue,  in 


222  LIFE    OF    JACKOUii. 

regard  to  the  rights  of  the  separate  states,  I  hope  to  be 
animated  by  a  proper  respect  for  those  sovereign  mem 
bers  of  our  Union ;  taking  care  not  to  confound  the  powers 
they  have  reserved  to  themselves  with  those  they  have 
granted  to  the  confederacy. 

The  management  of  the  public  revenue — that  searching- 
operation  in  ail  governments — is  among  the  most  delicate 
and  important  trusts  in  ours ;  and  it  will,  of  course,  de 
mand  no  inconsiderable  share  of  my  official  solicitude. 
Under  every  aspect  in  which  it  can  be  considered,  it  would 
appear  that  advantage  must  result  from  the  observance 
of  a  strict  and  faithful  economy.  This  I  shall  aim  at  the 
more  anxiously,  both  because  it  will  facilitate  the  extin 
guishment  of  the  national  debt,  the  unnecessary  duration 
of  which  is  incompatible  with  real  independence,  and  be 
cause  it  will  counteract  that  tendency  to  public  and  private 
profligacy  which  a  profuse  expenditure  of  money  by  the 
government  is  but  too  apt  to  engender. 

Powerful  auxiliaries  to  the  attainment  of  this  desirable 
end  are  to  be  found  in  the  regulation  provided  by  the 
wisdom  of  Congress  for  the  specific  appropriation  of  public 
money,  and  the  prompt  accountability  of  public  officers. 

With  regard  to  a  proper  selection  of  the  subjects  of 
impost,  with  a  view  to  revenue,  it  would  seem  to  me  that 
the  spirit  of  equity,  caution,  and  compromise,  in  which 
the  constitution  was  formed,  requires  that  the  great  in 
terests  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  should 
be  equally  favored ;  and  that  perhaps  the  only  exception 
to  this  rule  should  consist  in  the  peculiar  encouragement 
of  any  products  of  either  of  them  that  may  be  found  es 
sential  to  our  national  independence. 

Internal  improvement,  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge, 
so  far  as  they  can  be  promoted  by  the  constitutional  acts 
of  the  federal  government,  are  of  high  importance. 

Considering  standing  armies  as  dangerous  to  free  govern 
ments  in  time  of  peace,  I  shall  not  seek  to  enlarge  our 
present  establishment,  nor  to  disregard  that  salutary  les 
son  of  political  experience  which  teaches  that  the  military 
should  be  held  subordinate  to  the  civil  power.  The  grad 
ual  increase  of  our  navy,  whose  flag  has  displayed  in 


INAUGURAL   ADDRESS.  223 

distant  climes  our  skill  in  navigation  and  our  fame  in  arms ; 
the  preservation  of  our  forts,  arsenals,  and  dock-yards ; 
and  the  introduction  of  progressive  improvements  in  the 
discipline  and  science  of  both  branches  of  our  military 
service,  are  so  plainly  prescribed  by  prudence,  that  I  should 
be  excused  for  omitting  their  mention,  sooner  than  enlarg 
ing  on  their  importance.  But  the  bulwark  of  our  defence 
is  the  national  militia,  which,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
intelligence  and  population,  must  render  us  invincible.  As 
long  as  our  government  is  administered  for  the  good  of  the 
people,  and  is  regulated  by  their  will ;  as  long  as  it  se 
cures  to  us  the  rights  of  person  and  property,  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  of  the  press,  it  will  be  worth  defending ; 
and  so  long  as  it  is  worth  defending,  a  patriotic  militia 
will  cover  it  with  an  impenetrable  cegis.  Partial  injuries 
and  occasional  mortification  we  may  be  subjected  to;  but 
a  million  of  armed  freemen,  possessed  of  the  means  of 
war,  can  never  be  conquered  by  a  foreign  foe.  To  any 
just  system,  therefore,  calculated  to  strengthen  this  natu 
ral  safeguard  of  the  country,  I  shall  cheerfully  lend  all  the 
aid  in  my  power. 

It  will  be  my  sincere  and  constant  desire  to  observe 
toward  the  Indian  tribes  within  our  limits  a  just  and 
liberal  policy,  and  to  give  that  humane  and  considerate 
attention  to  their  rights  and  their  wants  which  are  consis 
tent  with  the  habits  of  our  government  and  the  feelings 
of  our  people. 

The  recent  demonstration  of  public  sentiment  inscribes 
on  the  list  of  executive  duties,  in  characters  too  legible  to 
overlooked,  the  task  of  reform;  which  will  require  parti 
cularly  the  correction  of  those  abuses  that  have  brought 
the  patronage  of  the  federal  government  into  conflict 
with  the  freedom  of  elections  and  the  counteraction  of 
those  causes  which  have  disturbed  the  rightful  course  of 
appointment,  and  have  placed  or  continued  power  in 
unfaithful  or  incompetent  hands. 

In  the  performance  of  a  task  thus  generally  delineated, 
I  shall  endeavor  to  select  men  whose  diligence  and  talents 
will  insure,  in  their  respective  stations,  able  and  faithful 
co-operation — depending  for  the  advancement  of  the  pub- 


224  LIFE    OF   JACKSON, 

lie  service,  more  on  the  integrity  and  zeal  of  the  public 
officers,  than  on  their  numbers. 

A  diffidence,  perhaps  too  just,'  in  my  own  qualification, 
will  teach  me  to  look  with  reverence  to  the  examples  of 
public  vitrue  left  by  my  illustrious  predecessors,  and  with 
veneration  to  the  lights  that  flow  from  the  mind  that 
founded  and  the  mind  that  reformed  our  system.  The 
same  diffidence  induces  me  to  hope  for  instruction  and  aid 
from  the  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  government,  and  for 
the  indulgence  and  support  of  my  fellow  citizens  general 
ly.  And  a  firm  reliance  on  the  goodness  of  that  Power 
whose  providence  mercifully  protected  our  national  infan 
cy,  and  has  since  upheld  our  liberties  in  various  vicissi 
tudes,  encourages  me  to  offer  up  my  ardent  supplication 
that  he  will  continue  to  make  our  beloved  country  the 
object  of  his  divine  care  and  gracious  benediction. 


MATSVILLE    ROAD    VETO,  225 


MAYSVILLE    ROAD    VETO. 
Delivered,  May  27th,  1830. 

Totfie  House  of  Representatives  : — 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  maturely  considered  the  bill  pro 
posing  to  authorize  "  a  subscription  of  stock  in  the  Mays- 
ville,  Washington,  Paris,  and  Lexington  Turnpike-road 
Company,"  and  now  return  the  same  to  the  house  of 
representatives,  in  which  it  originated,  with  my  objections 
to  its  passage. 

Sincerely  friendly  to  the  improvement  of  our  country 
by  means  of  roads  and  canals,  I  regret  that  any  difference 
of  opinion  in  the  mode  of  contributing  to  it  should  exist 
between  us ;  and  if,  in  stating  this  difference,  I  go  beyond 
what  the  occasion  may  be  deemed  to  call  for,  I  hope  to 
find  an  apology  in  the  great  importance  of  the  subject,  an 
unfeigned  respect  for  the  high  source  from  which  this 
branch  of  it  has  emanated,  and  an  anxious  wish  to  be 
correctly  understood  by  my  constituents  in  the  discharge 
of  all  my  duties.  Diversity  of  sentiment  among  public 
functionaries,  actuated  by  the  same  general  motives,  on 
the  character  and  tendency  of  particular  measures,  is  an 
incident  common  to  all  governments,  and  the  more  to  be 
expected  in  one  which,  like  ours,  owes  its  existence  to  the 
freedom  of  opinion,  and  must  be  upheld  by  the  same 
influence.  Controlled  as  we  thus  are  by  a  higher  tribu 
nal,  before  which  our  respective  acts  will  be  canvassed 
with  the  indulgence  due  to  the  imperfections  of  our 
nature,  and  with  that  intelligence  and  unbiassed  judg 
ment  which  are  the  true  correctives  of  error,  all  that  our 
responsibility  demands  is  that  the  public  good  should  be 
the  measure  of  our  views,  dictating  alike  their  frank  ex 
pression  and  honest  maintenance. 

In  the  message  which  was  presented  to  Congress  at 


226  LIFE    OF   JACKSOtf. 

the  opening  of  its  present  session,  I  endeavored  to  exhibit 
briefly  my  views  upon  the  important  and  highly  interest 
ing  subject  to  which  our  attention  is  now  to  be  directed. 
I  was  desirous  of  presenting  to  the  representatives  of  the 
several  states  in  Congress  assembled,  the  inquiry  whether 
some  mode  could  not  be  devised  which  would  reconcile 
the  diversity  of  opinion  concerning  the  powers  of  this 
government  over  the  subject  of  internal  improvements, 
and  the  manner  in  which  these  powers,  if  conferred  by 
the  constitution,  ought  to  be  exercised.  The  act  which  I 
am  called  upon  to  consider  has  therefore  been  passed 
with  a  knowledge  of  my  views  on  this  question,  as  these 
are  expressed  in  the  message  referred  to.  In  that  docu 
ment  the  following  suggestion  will  be  found : — 

"  After  the  extinction  of  the  public  debt  it  is  not  pro 
bable  that  any  adjustment  of  the  tariff  upon  principles 
satisfactory  to  the  people  of  the  Union  will,  until  a  remote 
period,  if  ever,  leave  the  government  without  a  consider 
able  surplus  in  the  treasury  beyond  what  may  be  required 
for  its  current  service.  As,  then,  the  period  approaches 
when  the  application  of  the  revenue  to  the  payment  of 
debts  will  cease,  the  disposition  of  the  surplus  will  pre 
sent  a  subject  for  the  serious  deliberation  of  Congress ; 
and  it  may  be  fortunate  for  the  country  that  it  is  yet  to 
be  decided.  Considered  in  connexion  with  the  difficulties 
which  have  heretofore  attended  appropriations  for  pur 
poses  of  internal  improvement,  and  with  those  which  this 
experience  tells  us  will  certainly  arise,  whenever  power 
over  such  subjects  may  be  exercised  by  the  general  gov 
ernment,  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  lead  to  the  adoption  of 
some  plan  which  will  reconcile  the  diversified  interests  of 
the  states,  and  strengthen  the  bonds  which  unite  them. 
Every  member  of  the  Union,  in  peace  and  in  war,  will  be 
benefited  by  the  improvement  of  inland  navigation,  and 
the  construction  of  highways  in  the  several  states.  Let 
us  then  endeavor  to  obtain  this  benefit  in  a  mode  which 
will  be  satisfactory  to  all.  That  hitherto  adopted  has 
been  deprecated  as  an  infraction  of  the  constitution  by 
many  of  our  fellow-citizens,  while  by  others  it  has  been 
viewed  as  inexpedient.  All  feel  that  it  has  been  employed 


MAYSVILLE    ROAD   VETO.  227 

at  the  expense  of  harmony  in  the  legislative  councils." 
And  adverting  to  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  to 
make  what  I  consider  a  proper  disposition  of  the  surplus 
revenue,  I  subjoin  the  following  remarks :  "  To  avoid  these 
evils  it  appears  to  me  that  the  most  safe,  just,  and  federal 
disposition  which  could  be  made  of  the  surplus  revenue 
would  be  its  apportionment  among  the  several  states 
according  to  their  ratio  of  representation ;  and  should  this 
measure  not  be  found  warranted  by  the  constitution,  that 
it  would  be  expedient  to  propose  to  the  states  an  amend 
ment  authorizing  it." 

The  constitutional  power  of  the  federal  government  to 
construct  or  promote  works  of  internal  improvement  pre 
sents  itself  in  two  points  of  view:  the  first,  as  bearing 
upon  the  sovereignty  of  the  states  within  whose  limits 
their  execution  is  contemplated,  if  jurisdiction  of  the  ter 
ritory  which  they  may  occupy  be  claimed  as  necessary  to 
their  preservation  and  use ;  the  second,  as  asserting  the 
simple  right  to  appropriate  money  from  the  national  trea 
sury  in  aid  of  such  works,  when  undertaken  by  state 
authority  surrendering  the  claim  of  jurisdiction.  In  the 
first  view,  the  question  of  power  is  an  open  one,  and  can 
be  decided  without  the  embarrassment  attending  the 
other,  arising  from  the  practice  of  the  government.  Al 
though  frequently  and  strenuously  attempted,  the  power 
to  this  extent  has  never  been  exercised  by  the  govern 
ment  in  a  single  instance.  It  does  not,  in  my  opinion, 
possess  it;  and  no  bill,  therefore,  which  admits  it  can  re 
ceive  my  official  sanction. 

But  in  the  other  view  of  the  power  the  question  is  dif 
ferently  situated.  The  ground  taken  at  an  early  period 
of  the  government  was,  "that  whenever  money  has  been 
raised  by  the  general  authority,  and  is  to  be  applied  to  a 
particular  measure,  a  question  arises  whether  the  particu 
lar  measure  be  within  the  enumerated  authorities  vested 
in  Congress.  If  it  be,  the  money  requisite  for  it  may  be 
applied  to  it ;  if  not,  no  such  application  can  be  made." 
The  document  in  which  this  principle  was  first  advanced 
is  of  deservedly  high  authority,  and  should  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance  for  its  immediate  agency  in  rescu- 


'228  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

ing  the  country  from  much  existing  abuse,   and  for  its 
conservative  effect  upo-n  some  of  the  most  valuable  prin 
ciples  of  the  constitution.     Thft  symmetry  and  purity  ol 
the  government  would  doubtless  have  been  better  pre 
served  if  this  restriction  of  the   power  of  appropriation 
could  have  been  maintained  without  weakening  its  ability 
to  fulfil  the  general  objects  of  its  institution — an  ell'cc , 
so  likely  to  attend  its  admission,  notwithstanding  its  appa 
rent  fitness,  that  every  subsequent  administration  of  the 
government,  embracing  a  period  of  thirty  out  of  the  forty 
two  years  of  its  existence,  has  adopted  a  more  enlargec 
construction  of  the  power.     It  is  not  my  purpose  to  detail 
you  by  a  minute  recital  of  the  acts  which  sustain  thit 
assertion,  but  it  is  proper  that  I  should  notice  some  of  the 
most  prominent,  in  order  that  the  reflections  which  the}' 
suggest  to  my  mind  may  be  better  understood. 

In  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson  we  have  twc 
examples  of  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  appropriation, 
which,  in  the  considerations  that  led  to  their  adoption, 
and  in  their  effects  upon  the  public  mind,  have  had  a 
greater  agency  in  marking  the  character  of  the  power, 
than  any  subsequent  events.  I  allude  to  the  payment  of 
fifteen  millions  of  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana, 
and  to  the  original  appropriation  for  the  construction  of 
the  Cumberland  road;  the  latter  act  deriving  much  weight 
from  the  acquiescence  and  approbation  of  three  of  the 
most  powerful  of  the  original  members  of  the  confederacy, 
expressed  through  their  respective  legislatures.  Although 
the  circumstances  of  the  latter  case  may  be  such  as  to 
deprive  so  much  of  it  as  relates  to  the  actual  construction 
of  the  road  of  the  force  of  an  obligatory  exposition  of  the 
constitution,  it  must  nevertheless  be  admitted  that  so  far 
as  the  mere  appropriation  of  money  is  concerned,  they 
present  the  principle  in  its  most  imposing  aspect.  No  less 
than  twenty-three  different  laws  have  been  passed  through 
all  the  forms  of  the  constitution,  appropriating  upward  of 
two  millions  and  a  half  of  dollars,  out  of  the  national  trea 
sury,  in  support  of  that  improvement,  with  the  approba 
tion  of  every  president  of  the  United  States,  including  my 
predecessor,  since  its  commencement 


MAY6VILLE    ROAD    VETO  229 

Independently  of  the  sanction  given  to  appropriations 
for  the  Cumberland  and  other  roads  and  objects,  under 
this  power,  the  administration  of  Mr.  Madison  was  charac 
terized  by  an  act  which  furnishes  the  strongest  evidence 
of  his  opinion  of  its  extent.  A  bill  was  passed  through 
both  houses  of  Congress  and  presented  for  his  approval, 
"  setting  apart  and  pledging  certain  funds  for  constructing 
roads  and  canals,  and  improving  the  navigation  of  water 
courses,  in  order  to  facilitate,  promote,  and  give  security 
to  internal  commerce  among  the  several  states,  and  to 
render  more  easy  and  less  expensive  the  means  and  pro 
visions  for  the  common  defence."  Regarding  the  bill  as 
asserting  a  power  in  the  federal  government  to  construct 
roads  and  canals  within  the  limits  of  the  states  in  which 
they  were  made,  he  objected  to  its  passage  on  the  ground 
of  its  unconstitutionally,  declaring  that  the  assent  of  the 
respective  states,  [n  the  mode  provided  by  the  bill,  could 
not  confer  the  power  in  question ;  that  the  only  cases  in 
which  the  consent  and  cession  of  particular  states  can 
extend  the  power  of  Congress  are  those  specified  and 
provided  for  in  the  constitution ;  and  superadding  to  these 
avowals  his  opinion  that  a  restriction  of  the  power  "tc 
provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare"  tc 
cases  which  are  to  be  provided  for  by  the  expenditure  of 
money,  would  still  leave  within  the  legislative  power  of 
Congress  all  the  great  and  most  important  measures  of 
government,  money  being  the  ordinary  and  necessary 
means  of  carrying  them  into  execution.  I  have  not  been 
able  to  consider  these  declarations  in  any  other  point  of 
view  than  as  a  concession  that  the  right  of  appropriation 
is  not  limited  by  the  power  to  carry  into  effect  the  measure 
for  which  the  money  is  asked,  as  was  formerly  contended. 

The  views  of  Mr.  Monroe  upon  this  subject  were  not 
left  to  inference.  During  his  administration,  a  bill  was 
passed  through  both  houses  of  Congress,  conferring  the 
jurisdiction  and  prescribing  the  mode  by  which  the  fede 
ral  government  should  exercise  it  in  the  case  of  the  Cum 
berland  road.  He  returned  it  with  objections  to  its 
passage,  and  in  assigning  them  took  occasion  to  say,  that 
in  the  early  stages  of  the  government  he  had  inclined  to 


230  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

the  construction  that  it  had  no  right  to  expend  money, 
except  in  the  performance  of  acts  authorized  by  the  other 
specific  grants  of  power,  according  to  a  strict  construction 
of  them ;  but  that  on  further  reflection  and  observation,  his 
mind  had  undergone  a  change;  that  his  opinion  then  was : 
"that  Congress  have  an  unlimited  power  to  raise  money, 
and  that  in  its  appropriation  they  have  a  discretionary 
power,  restricted  only  by  the  duty  to  appropriate  it  to 
purposes  of  common  defence  and  of  general,  not  local, 
national,  not  state,  benefit;"  and  this  was  avowed  to  be 
the  governing  principle  through  the  residue  of  his  admin 
istration.  The  views  of  the  last  administration  are  of  such 
recent  date  as  to  render  a  particular  reference  to  them 
unnecessary.  It  is  well  known  that  the  appropriating 
power,  to  the  utmost  extent  which  had  been  claimed  for 
it  in  relation  to  internal  improvements,  was  fully  recog 
nised  and  exercised  by  it 

This  brief  reference  to  known  facts  will  be  sufficient  to 
show  the  difficulty,  if  not  impracticability,  of  bringing 
back  the  operations  of  the  government  to  the  construction 
of  the  constitution  set  up  in  1793,  assuming  that  to  be  its 
true  reading  in  relation  to  the  power  under  consideration ; 
thus  giving  an  admonitory  proof  of  the  force  of  implica 
tion,  and  the  necessity  of  guarding  the  constitution  with 
sleepless  vigilance  against  the  authority  of  precedents 
which  have  not  the  sanction  of  its  most  plainly  defined 
powers.  For  although  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to  look  to  that 
sacred  instrument  instead  of  the  statute  book ;  to  repu 
diate  at  all  times  encroachments  upon  its  spirit,  which 
are  too  apt  to  be  effected  by  the  conjuncture  of  peculiar 
and  facilitating  circumstances ;  it  is  not  less  true  that  the 
public  good  and  the  nature  of  our  political  institutions 
require  that  individual  differences  should  yield  to  a  well- 
settled  acquiescence  of  the  people  and  confederate  author 
ities  in  particular  constructions  of  the  constitution  on 
doubtful  points.  Not  to  concede  this  much  to  the  spirit 
of  our  institutions,  would  impair  their  stability  and  defeat 
the  objects  of  the  constitution  itself. 

The  bill  before  me  does  not  call  for  a  more  definite 
opinion  upon  the  particular  circumstances  which  will  war- 


MAYSVILLE    ROAD  VETO.  231 

rant  appropriations  of  money  by  Congress  to  aid  works 
of  internal  improvement;  for  although  the  extension  of 
the  power  to  apply  money  beyond  that  of  carrying  into 
effect  the  object  for  which  it  is  appropriated  has,  as  we 
have  seen,  been  long  claimed  and  exercised  by  the  federal 
government,  yet  such  grants  have  always  been  professedly 
under  the  control  of  the  general  principle,  that  the  works 
which  might  be  thus  aided  should  be  "  of  a  general,  not 
local,  national,  not  state,  character."  A  disregard  of  this 
distinction  would,  of  necessity,  lead  to  the  subversion  of 
the  federal  system.  That  even  this  is  an  unsafe  one, 
arbitrary  in  its  nature,  and  liable  consequently  to  great 
abuses,  is  too  obvious  to  require  the  confirmation  of  expe 
rience.  It  is,  however,  sufficiently  definite  and  imperative 
to  my  mind  to  forbid  my  approbation  of  any  bill  having 
the  character  of  the  one  under  consideration.  I  have 
given  to  its  provisions  ail  the  reflection  demanded  by  a 
just  regard  for  the  interests  of  those  of  our  fellow-citizens 
who  have  desired  its  passage,  and  by  the  respect  which 
is  due  to  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  government;  but  I 
am  not  able  to  view  it  in  ?/  y  <  ther  light  than  as  a  mea 
sure  of  purely  local  char?  w ,  or,  if  it  can  be  considered 
national,  that  no  further  distinction  between  the  appro 
priate  duties  of  the  general  and  state  governments  need 
be  attempted,  for  there  can  be  no  local  interest  that  may 
not  with  equal  propriety  be  denominated  national.  It  has 
no  connexion  with  any  established  system  of  improve 
ments;  is  exclusively  within  the  limits  of  a  state,  starting 
at  a  point  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  running  out  sixty  miles 
to  an  interior  town ;  and,  even  as  far  as  the  state  is  inter 
ested,  conferring  partial  instead  of  general  advantages. 

Considering  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  pow 
er,  and  the  embarrassments  to  which,  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  thing,  its  exercise  must  necessarily  be  sub 
jected,  the  real  friends  of  internal  improvement  ought  not 
to  be  willing  to  confide  it  to  accident  and  chance.  What 
is  properly  national  in  its  character  or  otherwise,  is  an 
inquiry  which  is  of  en  extremely  difficult  of  solution.  The 
appropriations  of  one  year,  for  an  object  which  is  con 
sidered  national,  may  be  rendered  nugatory  by  the  refusal 


232  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  a  succeeding  Congress  to  continue  the  work,  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  local.  No  aid  can  be  derived  from  the 
intervention  of  corporations.  The  question  regards  the 
character  of  the  work,  not  that  of  those  by  whom  it  is  to 
be  accomplished.  Notwithstanding  the  union  of  the  gov 
ernment  with  the  corporation,  by  whose  immediate  agency 
any  work  of  internal  improvement  is  carried  on,  the 
inquiry  will  still  remain,  is  it  national,  and  conducive  to 
the  benefit  of  the  whole,  or  local,  and  operating  only  to 
the  advantage  of  a  portion  of  the  Union  ? 

But,  although  1  might  not  feel  it  to  be  my  official  duty 
to  interpose  the  executive  veto  to  the  passage  of  a  bill 
appropriating  money  for  the  construction  of  such  works 
as  are  authorized  by  the  states,  and  are  national  in  their 
character,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  expressing 
an  opinion  that  it  is  expedient  at  this  time  for  the  general 
government  to  embark  in  a  system  of  this  kind ;  and, 
anxious  that  my  constituents  should  be  possessed  of  my 
views  on  this  as  well  as  on  all  other  subjects  which  they 
have  committed  to  my  discretion,  1  shall  state  them 
frankly  and  briefly.  Besides  many  minor  considerations, 
there  are  two  prominent  views  on  the  subject  which  hajre 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  my  mind,  which  I  think 
are  well  entitled  to  your  serious  attention,  and  will,  I 
hope,  be  maturely  weighed  by  the  people. 

From  the  official  communications  submitted  to  you,  it 
appears  that  if  no  ml  verse  or  unforeseen  contingency 
happens  in  our  foreign  relations,  and  no  unusual  diversion 
be  made  of  the  funds  set  apart  for  the  payment  of  the 
national  debt,  we  may  look  with  confidence  to  its  entire 
extinguishment  in  the  short  period  of  four  years.  The 
extent  to  winch  this  pleasing  anticipation  is  dependent 
upon  the  policy  which  may  be  pursued  in  relation  to 
measures  of  the  character  of  the  one  now  under  consider 
ation,  must  be  obvious  to  all,  and  equally  so  that  the 
events  of  the  present  session  are  well  calculated  to  awaken 
public  solicitude  upon  the  subject.  By  the  statement 
from  the  treasury  department,  and  those  from  the  clerks 
of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives,  herewith  sub 
mitted,  it  appears  that  the  bills  which  have  passed  into 


MAYSVILLE    ROAD    VETOV  233 

laws,  and  those  which,  in  all  probability,  will  pass  before 
the  adjournment  of  Congress,  anticipate  appropriations 
which,  with  the  ordinary  expenditures  for  the  support  of 
government,  will  exceed  considerably  the  amount  in  the 
treasury  for  the  year  1830.  Thus,  while  we  are  diminish 
ing  the  revenue  by  a  reduction  of  the  duties  on  tea,  coffee, 
and  cocoa,  the  appropriations  for  internal  improvements 
are  increasing  beyond  the  available  means  of  the  treasury; 
and  if  to  this  calculation  be  added  the  amount  contained 
in  bills  which  are  pending  before  the  two  houses,  it  may 
be  safely  affirmed  that  ten  millions  of  dollars  would  not 
make  up  the  excess  over  the  treasury  receipts,  unless  the 
payment  of  the  national  debt  be  postponed,  and  the  means 
now  pledged  to  that  object  applied  to  those  enumerated 
in  these  bills.  Without  a  well-regulated  system  of  inter 
nal  improvement,  this  exhausting  mode  of  appropriation 
is  not  likely  to  be  avoided,  and  the  plain  consequence  must 
be,  either  a  continuance  of  the  national  debt  or  a  resort 
to  additional  taxes. 

Although  many  of  the  states,  with  a  laudable  zeal,  and 
under  the  influence  of  an  enlightened  policy,  are  success 
fully  applying  their  separate  efforts  to  works  of  this 
character,  the  desire  to  enlist  the  aid  of  the  general  gov 
ernment  in  the  construction  of  such  as,  from  their  nature, 
ought  to  devolve  upon  it,  and  to  which  the  means  of  the 
individual  states  are  inadequate,  is  both  rational  and 
patriotic ;  and  if  that  desire  is  not  gratified  now,  it  does 
not  follow  that  it  never  will  be.  The  general  intelligence 
and  public  spirit  of  the  American  people  furnish  a  sure 
guarantee  that,  at  the  proper  time,  this  policy  will  be 
made  to  prevail  under  circumstances  more  auspicious  to 
its  successful  prosecution  than  those  which  now  exist 
But,  great  as  this  object  undoubtedly  is,  it  is  not  the  only 
one  which  demands  the  fostering  care  of  the  government 
The  preservation  and  success  of  the  republican  principle 
rest  with  us.  To  elevate  its  character  and  extend  its 
influence  rank  amongst  our  most  important  duties,  and 
the  best  means  to  accomplish  this  desirable  end  are  those 
which  will  rivet  the  attachment  of  our  citizens  to  the 
government  of  their  choice,  by  the  comparative  lightness 


234  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  their  public  burdens,  and  by  the  attraction  which  the 
superior  success  of  its  operations  will  present  to  the  admi 
ration  and  respect  of  the  world.  Through  the  favor  of  an 
overruling  and  indulgent  Providence,  our  country  is 
blessed  with  general  prosperity,  and  our  citizens  exempted 
from  the  pressure  of  taxation  which  other  less  favored 
portions  of  the  human  family  are  obliged  to  bear ;  yet  it  is 
true  that  many  of  the  taxes  collected  from  our  citizens, 
through  the  medium  of  imposts,  have  for  a  considerable 
period  been  onerous.  In  many  particulars,  those  taxes 
have  borne  severely  upon  the  laboring  and  less  prosperous 
classes  of  the  community,  being  imposed  on  the  necessa 
ries  of  life,  and  this,  too,  in  cases  where  the  burden  was 
not  relieved  by  the  consciousness  that  it  would  ultimately 
contribute  to  make  us  independent  of  foreign  nations  for 
articles  of  prime  necessity,  by  the  encouragement  of  their 
growth  and  manufacture  at  home.  They  have  been 
cheerfully  borne,  because  they  were  thought  to  be  neces 
sary  to  the  support  of  government,  and  the  payment  of 
the  debts  unavoidably  incurred  in  the  acquisition  and 
maintenance  of  our  national  rights  and  privileges.  But 
have  we  aright  to  calculate  on  the  same  cheerful  acquies 
cence,  when  it  is  known  that  the  necessity  for  their  con 
tinuance  would  cease,  were  it  not  for  the  irregular,  impro 
vident,  and  unequal  appropriations  of  the  public  funds? 
Will  not  the  people  demand,  as  they  have  a  right  to  do, 
such  a  prudent  system  of  expenditure  as  will  pay  the 
debts  of  the  Union,  and  authorize  the  reduction  of  every 
tax  to  as  low  a  point  as  the  wise  observance  of  the  neces 
sity  to  protect  that  portion  of  our  manufactures  and  labor, 
whose  prosperity  is  essential  to  our  national  safety  and 
independence,  will  allow  ?  When  the  national  debt  is 
paid,  the  duties  upon  those  articles  which  we  do  not  raise 
may  be  repealed  with  safety,  and  still  leave,  I  trust,  with 
out  oppression  to  any  section  of  the  country,  an  accumu 
lating  surplus  fund,  which  may  be  beneficially  applied  to 
some  well-digested  system  of  improvement. 

Under  this  view,  the  question,  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  federal  government  can,  or  ought  to  embark  in 
the  construction  of  roads  and  canals,  arid  the  extent  to 


MA.YSV1LLE    ROAD    VETCX  235 

vhich  it  may  impose  burdens  on  the  people  for  these 
purposes,  may  be  presented  on  its  own  merits,,  free  of  all 
disguise,  and  of  every  embarrassment  except  such  as  may 
arise  from  the  constitution  itself.  Assuming  these  sug 
gestions  to  be  correct,  will  not  our  constituents  require 
the  observance  of  a  course  by  which  they  can  be  effected  ? 
Oui;ht  they  not  to  require  it?  With  the  best  disposition 
to  ai  d,  as  far  as  I  can  conscientiously,  in  the  furtherance  of 
works  of  internal  improvement,  my  opinion  is,  that  the 
soundest  views  of  national  policy,  at  this  time,  point  to 
such  a  course.  Besides  the  avoidance  of  an  evil  influence 
upon  the  local  concerns  of  the  country,  how  solid  is  the 
advantage  which  the  government  will  reap  from  it  in  the 
elevation  of  its  character!  How  gratifying  the  effect  of 
presenting  to  the  world  the  sublime  spectacle  of  a  republic, 
of  more  than  twelve  millions  of  happy  people,  in  the 
forty-fourth  year  of  her  existence — after  having  passed 
through  two  protracted  wars,  the  one  for  the  acquisition, 
and  the  other  for  the  maintenance  of  liberty — free  from 
debt,  and  with  all  her  immense  resources  unfettered! 
What  a  salutary  influence  would  not  such  an  exhibition 
exercise  upon  the  cause  of  liberal  principles  and  free 
government  throughout  the  world.  Would  we  not  our 
selves  find,  in  its  effect,  an  additional  guarantee  that  our 
political  institutions  will  be  transmitted  to  the  most  remote 
posterity  without  decay  ?  A  course  of  policy  destined  to 
witness  events  like  these,  can  not  be  benefited  by  a  legis 
lation  which  tolerates  a  scramble  for  appropriations  that 
have  no  relation  to  any  general  system  of  improvement, 
and  whose  good  effects  must  of  necessity  be  very  limited. 
In  the  best  view  of  these  appropriations,  the  abuses  to 
which  they  lead  far  exceed  the  good  which  they  are 
capable  of  promoting.  They  may  be  resorted  to  as  artful 
expedients  to  shift  upon  the  government  the  losses  of 
unsuccessful  private  speculation,  and  thus,  by  ministering 
to  personal  ambition  and  self-aggrandizement,  tend  to  sap 
the  foundations  of  public  virtue,  and  taint  the  administra 
tion  of  the  government  with  a  demoralizing  influence. 

In  the  other  view  of  the  subject,  and  the  only  remain 
ing  one  which  it  is  my  intention  to  present  at  this  time, 
11 


236  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

is  involved  the  expediency  of  embarking  in  a  system  of 
internal  improvement  without  a  previous  amendment  of 
the  constitution,  explaining  and  denning  the  precise  pow 
ers  of  the  federal  government  over  it.  Assuming  the 
right  to  appropriate  money  to  aid  in  the  construction  of 
national  works,  to  be  warranted  by  the  contemporaneous 
and  continued  exposition  of  the  constitution,  its  sufficiency 
for  the  successful  prosecution  of  them  must  be  admitted 
by  all  candid  minds.  If  we  look  to  usage  to  define  the 
extent  of  the  right,  that  will  be  found  so  variant,  and 
embracing  so  much  that  has  been  overruled,  as  to  involve 
the  whole  subject  in  great  uncertainty,  and  to  render  the 
execution  of  our  respective  duties  in  relation  to  it  replete 
with  difficulty  and  embarrassment.  It  is  in  regard  to 
such  works,  and  the  acquisition  of  additional  territory, 
that  the  practice  obtained  its  first  footing.  In  most  if  not 
all  other  disputed  questions  of  appropriation,  the  construc 
tion  of  the  constitution  may  be  regarded  as  unsettled,  if 
the  right  to  apply  money,  in  the  enumerated  cases,  is 
placed  on  the  ground  of  usage. 

This  subject  has  been  one  of  much,  and,  I  may  add, 
painful  reflection  to  me.  It  has  bearings  that  are  well 
calculated  to  exert  a  powerful  influence  upon  our  hitherto 
prosperous  system  of  government,  and  which,  on  some 
accounts,  may  even  excite  despondency  in  the  breast  of 
an  American  citizen.  I  will  not  detain  you  with  profes 
sions  of  zeal  in  the  cause  of  internal  improvements.  If 
to  be  their  friend  is  a  virtue  which  deserves  commenda 
tion,  our  country  is  blest  with  an  abundance  of  it ;  for  I 
do  not  suppose  there  is  an  intelligent  citizen  who  does  not 
wish  to  see  them  flourish.  .  But  though  all  are  their 
friends,  but  few,  I  trust,  are  unmindful  of  the  means  by 
which  they  should  be  promoted;  none  certainly  are  so 
degenerate  as  to  desire  their  success  at  the  cost  of  that 
sacred  instrument,  with  the  preservation  of  which  is  indis 
solubly  bound  our  country's. hopes.  If  different  impres- 
eions  are  entertained  in  any  quarter ;  if  it  is  expected  that 
the  people  of  this  country,  reckless  of  their  constitutional 
obligations,  will  prefer  their  local  interest  to  the  principles 
of  the  Union,  such  expectations  will  in  the  end  be  disap- 


MAYSVILLE    KOAD    VETO.  237 

pointed ;  or,  if  it  be  not  so,  then  indeed  has  the  world  but 
little  to  hope  from  the  example  of  free  government 
When  an  honest  observance  of  constitutional  compacts 
can  not  be  obtained  from  communities  like  ours,  it  need 
not  be  anticipated  elsewhere ;  and  the  cause  in  which  there 
has  been  so  much  martyrdom,  and  from  which  so  much 
was  expected  by  the  friends  of  liberty,  may  be  abandoned, 
and  the  degrading  truth,  that  man  is  unfit  for  self-govern 
ment,  admitted.  And  this  will  be  the  case,  if  expediency 
be  made  a  rule  of  construction  in  interpreting  the  consti 
tution.  Power,  in  no  government  could  desire  a  better 
shield  for  the  insidious  advances  which  it  is  ever  ready  to 
make  upon  the  checks  that  are  designed  to  restrain  its 
action. 

But  I  do  not  entertain  such  gloomy  apprehensions.  If 
it  be  the  wish  of  the  people  that  the  construction  of  roads 
and  canals  should  be  conducted  by  the  federal  govern 
ment,  it  is  not  only  highly  expedient,  but  indispensably 
necessary,  that  a  previous  amendment  of  the  constitution, 
delegating  the  necessary  power,  and  defining  and  restrict 
ing  its  exercise  with  reference  to  the  sovereighty  of  the 
states,  should  be  made.  Without  it,  nothing  extensively 
useful  can  be  effected.  The  right  to  exercise  as  much 
jurisdiction  as  is  necessary  to  preserve  the  works,  and  to 
raise  funds  by  the  collection  of  tolls  to  keep  them  in  repair, 
can  not  be  dispensed  with.  The  Cumberland  road  should 
be  an  instructive  admonition  of  the  consequences  of  act 
ing  without  this  right.  Year  after  year,  contests  are 
witnessed,  growing  out  of  efforts  to  obtain  the  necessary 
appropriations  for  completing  and  repairing  this  useful 
work.  While  one  Congress  may  claim  and  exercise  the 
power,  a  succeeding  one  may  deny  it ;  and  this  fluctuation 
of  opinion  must  be  unavoidably  fatal  to  any  scheme 
which,  from  its  extent,  would  promote  the  interests  and 
elevate  the  character  of  the  country.  The  experience  of 
the  past  has  shown  that  the  opinion  of  Congress  is  subject 
to  such  fluctuations. 

If  it  be  the  desire  of  the  people  that  the  agency  of  the 
federal  government  should  be  confined  to  the  appropria 
tion  of  money  in  aid  of  such  undertakings,  in  virtue  of 


238  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

state  authorities,  then  the  occasion,  the  manner,  and  the 
extent  of  the  appropriations,   should  be  made  the  subject 
of  constitutional  regulation.     This  is  the  more  necessary, 
in  order  that  they  may  be  equitable  among  the   several 
states ;  promote  harmony  between  different  sections  of  the 
Union  and  their  representatives ;  preserve  other  parts  of 
the  constitution  from  being  undermined  by  the  exercise 
of  doubtful  powers,  or  the  too  great  extension  of  those 
which  are  not  so;  and  protect  the  whole  subject  against 
the    deleterious    influence  of  combinations  to  carry,   by 
concert,  measures  which,  considered  by  themselves,  might 
meet  but   little  countenance.     That  a  constitutional  ad 
justment  of  this  power  upon  equitable  principles  is  in  the 
highest  degree  desirable,  can  scarcely  be  doubted;   nor 
can  it  fail  to  be  promoted  by  every  sincere  friend  to  the 
success  of  our  political  institutions.     In  no  government 
are  appeals  to  the  source  of  power  in  cases  of  real  doubt 
more   suitable    than  in   ours.     Ko  good  motive   can  be 
assigned    for  the  exercise  of  power  by    the   constituted 
authorities,  while  those  for  whose  benefit  it  is  to  be  exer 
cised  have  not  conferred  it,  and  may  not  be  willing  to 
confer  it.     It  would  seem  to  me  that  an  honest  applica 
tion  of  the  conceded  powers  of  the  general  government 
to  the  advancement  of  the  common  weal,  presents  a  suffi 
cient  scope  to  satisfy  a  reasonable  ambition.     The  difficul 
ty  and  supposed  impracticability  of  obtaining  an  amend 
ment  of  the  constitution  in  this  respect  is,  I  iirmly  believe, 
in  a  great  degree  unfounded.     The  time  has  never  yet" 
been  when  the  patriotism  and  intelligence  of  the  American 
people  were  not  fully  equal  to  the  greatest  exigency;  and 
it  never  will,  when  the  subject  calling  forth  their  interpo 
sition  is  plainly  presented  to  them.     To  do  so  with  the 
questions  involved  in  this  bill,   and  to  urge  them  to  an 
early,  zealous,  and  full  consideration  of  their  deep  impor 
tance,   is.  in  my  estimation,    amono-   the  hi<)-hest  of  our 

<J  GO 

duties. 

A  supposed  connexion  between  appropriations  for  inter 
nal  improvement  and  the  system  of  protecting  duties, 
growing  out  of  the  anxieties  of  those  more  immediately 
interested  in  their  success,  has  given  rise  to  suggestions 


MAYSVILLE    ROAD  VETO.  239 

which  it  is  proper  I  should  notice  on  this  occasion.  My 
opinions  on  these  subjects  have  never  been  concealed 
from  those  who  had  a  right  to  know  them.  Those  which 
I  have  entertained  on  the  latter  have  frequently  placed 
me  in  opposition  to  individuals  as  well  as  communities, 
whose  claims  upon  my  friendship  and  gratitude  are  of  the 
strongest  character ;  but  I  trust  there  has  been  nothing 
in  my  public  life  which  has  exposed  me  to  the  suspicion 
of  being  thought  capable  of  sacrificing  my  views  of  duty 
to  private  considerations,  however  strong  they  may  have 
been,  or  deep  the  regrets  which  they  are  capable  of 
exciting. 

As  long  as  the  encouragement  of  domestic  manufactures 
is  directed  to  national  ends,  it  shall  receive  from  me  a 
temperate  but  steady  support  There  is  no  necessary 
connexion  between  it  and  the  system  of  appropriations. 
On  the  contrary,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  supposition  of 
their  dependence  upon  each  other  is  calculated  to  excite 
the  prejudices  of  the  public  against  both.  The  former  is 
sustained  on  the  ground  of  its  consistency  with  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  constitution,  of  its  origin  being  traced  to 
the  assent  of  all  the  parties  to  the  original  compact,  and 
of  its  having  the  support  and  approbation  of  a  majority 
of  the  people ;  on  which  account  it  is  at  least  entitled  to  a 
fair  experiment.  The  suggestions  to  which  I  have  alluded 
refer  to  a  forced  continuance  of  the  national  debt,  by 
means  of  large  appropriations,  as  a  substitute  for  the 
security  which  the  system  derives  from  the  principles  on 
which  it  has  hitherto  been  "  sustained.  Such  a  course 
would  certainly  indicate  either  an  unreasonable  distrust 
of  the  people,  or  a  consciousness  that  the  system  does  not 
possess  sufficient  soundness  for  its  support,  if  left  to  their 
voluntary  choice  and  its  own  merits.  Those  who  suppose 
that  any  policy  thus  founded  can  be  long  upheld  in  this 
country,  have  looked  upon  its  history  with  eyes  very 
different  from  mine.  This  policy,  like  every  other,  must 
abide  the  will  of  the  people,  who  will  not  be  likely  to 
allow  any  device,  however  specious,  to  conceal  its  charac 
ter  and  tendency 

y 


240  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

In  presenting  these  opinions,  I  have  spoken  with  tho 
freedom  and  candor  which  I  thought  the  occasion  for 
their  expression  called  for ;  and  now  respectfully  return 
the  bill  which  has  been  under  consideration,  for  your  fur 
ther  deliberation  and  judgment. 


Message  of  President  Jackson  to  the  United  States  Senate,  OH  return 
ing  the  bank  bill  with  his  objections.— July  10,  1832. 

To  THE  SENATE : 

The  bill  "  to  modify  and  continue"  the  act  entitled  "An 
act  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,"  was  presented  to  me  on  the  4th  of  July  instant. 
Having  considered  it  with  that  solemn  regard  to  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  constitution  which  the  day  was  calculated  to 
inspire,  and  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  ought  not  to 
become  a  law,  I  herewith  return  it  to  the  Senate,  in  which 
it  originated,  with  my  objections. 

A  bank  of  the  United  States  is,  in  many  respects,  con 
venient  for  the  government,  and  useful  to  the  people. 
Entertaining  this  opinion,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  some  of  the  powers  and  privileges  possessed 
by  the  existing  bank  are  unauthorized  by  the  constitution, 
subversive  of  the  rights  of  the  states,  and  dangerous  to  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  I  felt  it  my  duty,  at  an  early  period 
of  my  administration,  to  call  the  attention  of  Congress  to 
the  practicability  of  organizing  an  institution  combining  all 
its  advantages,  and  obviating  these  objections.  I  sincerely 
regret  that,  in  the  act  before  me,  I  can  perceive  none  of 
those  modifications  of  the  bank  charter  which  are  neces 
sary,  in  my  opinion,  to  make  it  compatible  with  justice, 
with  sound  policy,  or  with  the  constitution  of  our  country. 

The  present  corporate  body,  denominated  the  President, 
Directors,  and  Company  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
will  have  existed,  at  the  time  this  act  is  intended  to  take 

199 


242  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

effect,  twenty  years.  It  enjoys  an  exclusive  privilege  of 
banking  under  the  authority  of  the  general  government, 
a  monopoly  of  its  favor  and  support,  and,  as  a  necessary 
consequence,  almost  a  monopoly  of  the  foreign  and  domes 
tic  exchange.  The  powers,  privileges,  and  favors  bestowed 
upon  it  in  the  original  charter,  by  increasing  the  value  of 
the  ^tock  far  above  its  par  value,  operated  as  a  gratuity  of 
many  millions  to  the  stockholders. 

An  apology  may  be  found  for  the  failure  to  guar 
against  this  result,  in  the  consideration  that  the  effect  of 
the  original  act  of  incorporation  could  not  be  certainly 
foreseen  at  the  time  of  its  passage.  The  act  before  me 
proposes  another  gratuity  to  the  holders  of  the  same  stock, 
and  in  many  cases  to  the  same  men,  of  at  least  seven 
millions  more.  This  donation  finds  no  apology  in  any 
uncertainty  as  to  the  effect  of  the  act.  On  all  hands,  it 
is  conceded,  that  its  passage  will  increase,  at  least  twenty 
or  thirty  per  cent,  more,  the  market  price  of  the  stock, 
subject  to  the  payment  of  the  annuity  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  per  year,  secured  by  the  act ;  thus  adding, 
in  a  moment,  one-fourth  to  its  par  value.  It  is  not  our 
own  .citizens  only  who  are  to  receive  the  bounty  of  our 
'  government.  More  than  eight  millions  of  the  stock  of 
this  bank  are  held  by  foreigners.  By  this  act,  the  Ame 
rican  republic  proposes  virtually  to  make  them  a  present 
of  some  millions  of  dollars.  For  these  gratuities  to  foreign 
ers,  and  to  some  of  our  own  opulent  citizens,  tne  act  secures 
no  equivalent  whatever.  They  are  the  certain  gains  of 
the  present  stockholders,  under  the  operation  of  this  act, 
after  making  full  allowance  for  the  payment  of  the  bonus. 

Every  monopoly, and  all  exclusive  privileges,  are  granted 
at  the  expense  of  the  public,  which  ought  to  receive  a  fair 
equivalent.  The  many  millions  which  this  act  proposes 
to  bestow  on  the  stockholders  of  the  existing  bank,  must 
come,  directly  or  indirectly,  out  of  the  earnings  of  the 
American  people.  It  is  due  to  them,  therefore,  if  their 
government  sell  monopolies  and  exclusive  privileges,  that 
they  should  at  least  exact  for  them  as  much  as  they  are 
worth  in  open  market.  The  value  of  the  monopoly  in 
this  case  may  be  correctly  ascertained.  The  twenty-eight 


VETO  OF  THE  BANK  BILL.  243 

millions  of  stock  would  probably  be  at  an  advance  of  fifty 
per  cent.,  and  command  in  market  at  least  forty-twg  mil 
lions  of  dollars,  subject  to  the  payment  of  the  present  bonus. 
The  present  value  of  the  monopoly,  therefore,  is  seven 
teen  millions  of  dollars,  and  this  the  act  proposes  to  sell 
for  three  millions,  payable  in  fifteen  annual  instalments, 
of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  each. 

It  is  not  conceivable  how  the  present  stockholders  can 
have  any  claim  to  the  special  favor  of  the  government. 
The  present  corporation  has  enjoyed  its  monopoly  during 
the  period  stipulated  in  the  original  contract.  If  we  must 
have  such  a  corporation,  why  should  not  the  government 
sell  out  the  whole  stock,  and  thus  secure  to  the  people  the 
full  market  value  of  the  privileges  granted  ?  Why  should 
not  Congress  create  and  sell  twenty-eight  millions  of 
stock,  incorporating  the  purchasers  with  all  the  powers 
and  privileges  secured  in  this  act,  arid  putting  the  pre 
mium  upon  the  sales  into  the  treasury  ? 

But  this  act  does  not  permit  competition  in  the  purchase 
of  this  monopoly.  It  seems  to  be  predicated  on  the  erro 
neous  idea,  that  the  present  stockholders  have  a  prescriptive 
right,  not  only  to  the  favor,  but  to  the  bounty  of  the  govern 
ment.  It  appears  that  more  than  a  fourth  part  of  the  stock 
is  held  by  foreigners,  and  the  residue  is  held  by  a  few 
hundred  of  our  citizens,  chiefly  of  the  richest  class;  for 
their  benefit  does  this  act  exclude  the  whole  American 
people  from  competition  in  the  purchase  of  this  monopoly, 
and  dispose  of  it  for  many  millions  less  than  it  is  worth.  This 
seems  the  less  excusable,  because  some  of  our  citizens,  not 
now  stockholders,  petitioned  that  the  door  of  competition 
might  be  opened,  and  offered  to  take  a  charter  on  terms 
much  more  favorable  to  the  government  and  country. 

But  this   proposition,  although  made  by  men  whose 

ggregate  wealth  is  believed  to  be  equal  to  all  the  private 

stock  in  the  existing  bank,  has  been  set  aside,  and  the 

bounty  of  our  government  is  proposed  to  be  again  bestowed 

on  the  few  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure  the 

stock,  and,  at  this  moment,  wield  the  power  of  the  existing 

institution.     I  cannot  perceive  the  justice  or  policy  of  this 

course.     If  our  government  must  sell  monopolies,  it  would 

11* 


244  LIFE    OP   JACKSON. 

seem  to  be  its  duty  to  take  nothing  less  than  their  full 
valu*;  and  if  gratuities  must  be  made  once  in  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  let  them  not  be  bestowed  on  the  subjects  of 
a  foreign  government,  nor  upon  a  designated  or  favorable 
class  of  men  in  our  own  country.  It  is  but  justice  and 
good  policy,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit,  to 
confine  our  favors  to  our  own  fellow-citizens,  and  let  each 
in  his  turn  enjoy  an  opportunity  to  profit  by  our  bounty. 
In  the  bearings  of  the  act  before  me  upon  these  points,  I 
find  ample  reasons  why  it  should  not  become  a  law. 

It  has  been  urged  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  re-charter 
ing  the  present  bank,  that  calling  in  its  loans  will  produce 
great  embarrassment  and  distress.  The  time  allowed  to 
close  its  concerns  is  ample,  and  if  it  has  been  well  managed 
its  pressure  will  be  light,  and  heavy  only  in  case  its  ma 
nagement  has  been  bad.  If,  therefore,  it  shall  produce 
distress,  the  fault  will  be  its  own,  and  it  would  furnish  a 
reason  against  renewing  a  power  which  has  been  so  ob 
viously  abused.  But  will  there  ever  be  a  time  when  this 
reason  will  be  less  powerful  ?  To  acknowledge  its  force 
is  to  admit  that  the  bank  ought  to  be  perpetual,  and  as  a 
consequence,  the  present  stockholders,  and  those  inherit 
ing  their  rights,  as  successors,  be  established  a  privileged 
order,  clothed  both  with  great  political  power,  and  enjoy 
ing  immense  pecuniary  advantages  from  their  connection 
with  the  government. 

The  modifications  of  the  existing  charter,  proposed  by 
this  act,  are  not  such,  in  my  view,  as  make  it  consistent 
with  the  rights  of  the  states,  or  the  liberties  of  the  people. 
The  qualification  of  the  right  of  the  bank  to  hold  real 
estate,  the  limitation  of  its  power  to  establish  branches, 
and  the  power  reserved  to  Congress  to  forbid  the  circula 
tion  of  small  notes,  are  restrictions  comparatively  of  little 
value  or  importance.  All  the  objectionable  principles  of 
the  existing  corporation,  and  most  of  its  odious  features, 
are  retained  without  alleviation. 

The  fourth  section  provides  "  that  the  notes  or  bills  of 
the  said  corporation,  although  the  same  be,  on  the  faces 
thereof,  respectively  made  payable  at  one  place  only, 
shall,  nevertheless,  be  received  by  the  said  corporation  at 


VETO  OF  THE  BANK  BILL.  245 

the  bank,  or  at  any  of  the  offices  of  discount  and  deposit 
thereof,  if  tendered  in  liquidation  or  payment  of  any 
balance  or  balances  due  to  said  corporation,  or  to  such 
office  of  discount  and  deposit  from  any  other  incorporated 
bank."  This  provision  secures  to  the  state  banks  a  legal 
privilege  in  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  which  is  with 
held  from  all  private  citizens.  If  a  state  bank  in  Phila 
delphia  owe  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  have 
notes  issued  by  the  St.  Louis  Branch,  it  can  pay  the  debt 
with  those  notes ;  but  if  a  merchant,  mechanic,  or  other 
private  citizen,  be  in  like  circumstances,  he  cannot  by  law 
pay  his  debt  with  those  notes,  but  must  sell  them  at  a  dis 
count,  or  send  them  to  St.  Louis  to  be  cashed.  This  boon 
conceded  to  the  state  banks,  though  not  unjust  in  itself,  is 
most  odious,  because  it  does  not  measure  out  equal  justice 
to  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor. 

To  the  extent  of  its  practical  effect,  it  is  a  bond  of  union 
among  the  banking  establishments  of  the  nation,  erecting 
them  into  an  interest  separate  from  that  of  the  people,  and 
its  necessary  tendency  is  to  unite  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  and  the  state  banks,  in  any  measure  which  may  be 
thought  conducive  to  their  common  interest. 

The  ninth  section  of  the  act  recognises  principles  of 
worse  tendency  than  any  provision  of  the  present  charter. 

it  enacts «that  the  "cashier  of  the  bank  shall  annually 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the  names  of  all 
stockholders  who  are  not  resident  citizens  of  the  United 
States ;  and  on  the  application  of  the  treasurer  of  any 
state,  shall  make  out,  and  transmit  to  such  treasurer  a  list 
of  stockholders  residing  in,  or  citizens  of  such  state,  with 
the  amount  owned  by  each." 

Although  this  provision,  taken  in  connection  with  a 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  surrenders,  by  its  silence, 
the  right  of  the  states  to  tax  the  banking  institutions  created 
by  this  corporation,  under  the  name  of  branches,  through 
out  the  Union,  it  is  evidently  intended  to  be  construed  as 
a  concession  of  their  right  to  tax  that  portion  of  the  stock 
which  may  be  held  by  their  own  citizens  and  residents. 
In  this  light,  if  the  act  becomes  a  law,  it  will  be  under 
stood  by  the  states,  who  will  probably  proceed  to  levy  a 


246  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

tax  equal  to  that  paid  upon  the  stock  of  banks  incorpo 
rated  by  themselves.  In  some  states  that  tax  is  now  one 
per  cent.,  either  on  the  capital  or  on  the  shares  ;  and  that 
may  be  assumed  as  the  amount  which  all  citizens  or 
resident  stockholders  would  be  taxed  under  the  operation 
of  this  act.  As  it  is  only  the  stock  held  in  the  states,  arid 
not  that  employed  within  them,  which  would  be  subject  to 
taxation,  and  as  the  names  of  foreign  stockholders  are  not 
to  be  reported  to  the  treasurers  of  the  states,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  stock  held  by  them  will  be  exempt  from  this 
burden.  Their  annual  profits  will,  therefore,  be  increased 
one  per  cent,  more  than  the  citizen  stockholders  ;  and  as 
the  annual  dividends  of  the  bank  may  be  safely  estimated 
at  seven  per  cent.,  the  stock  will  be  worth  ten  or  fifteen 
per  cent,  more  to  foreigners  than  to  citizens  of  the  United 
States.  To  appreciate  the  effect  which  this  state  of  things 
will  produce,  we  must  take  a  brief  review  of  the  opera 
tions  and  present  condition  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States. 

By  documents  Submitted  to  Congress  at  the  present 
session,  it  appears  that  on  the  1st  of  January,  1832, 
of  the  28,000,000  of  private  stock,  in  the  corporation, 
8,405,500  were  held  by  foreigners,  mostly  of  Great  Britain. 
The  amount  of  stock  held  in  the  nine  Western  States  is 
140,200  dollars  ;  and  in  the  four  Southern  States  is 
5,023,100  dollars;  and  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States 
about  13,522,000  dollars.  The  profits  of  the  bank  in 
1831,  as  shown  in  a  statement  of  Congress,  were  about 
3,455,598  dollars  ;  of  this  there  accrued  in  the  nine 
Western  States  about  1,040,048  dollars  ;  in  the  four  South 
ern  States  about  352,597  dollars  ;  and  in  the  Middle  and 
Eastern  States  about  1,463,041  dollars.  As  little  stock  is 
held  in  the  West,  it  is  obvious  that  the  debt  of  the  people 
in  that  section  to  the  bank  is  principally  a  debt  to  the 
Eastern  and  foreign  stockholders  ;  that  the  interest  they 
pay  upon  it  is  carried  into  the  Eastern  States  and  into 
Europe  ;  and  that  it  is  a  burden  upon  their  industry,  and 
a  drain  of  their  currency,  which  no  country  can  bear  with 
out  inconvenience  and  occasional  distress.  To  meet  this 
burden,  and  equalize  the  exchange  operations  of  the  bank, 


VETO    OF    THE    BANK    BILL.  247 

the  amount  of  specie  drawn  from  those  states,  through  its 
branches,  within  the  last  two  years,  as  shown  by  its  official 
reports,  was  about  6,000,000  dollars.  More  than  half  a 
million  of  this  amount  does  not  stop  in  the  Eastern  States, 
but  passes  on  to  Europe,  to  pay  the  dividends  to  the 
foreign  stockholders.  In  the  principle  of  taxation  re 
cognised  by  this  act,  the  western  states  find  no  adequate 
compensation  for  this  perpetual  burden  on  their  indus 
try,  and  drain  of  their  currency.  The  Branch  Bank  at 
Mobile  made  last  year,  95,140  dollars ;  yet,  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  the  state  of  Alabama  can  raise  no 
revenue  from  these  profitable  operations,  because  not  a 
share  of  the  stock  is  held  by  any  of  her  citizens.  Mis 
sissippi  and  Missouri  are  in  the  same  condition  in  relation 
to  the  branches  at  Natchez  and  St.  Louis,  and  such,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  is  the  condition  of  every  Western 
State.  The  tendency  of  the  plan  of  taxation  which  this 
act  proposes,  will  be  to  place  the  whole  United  States  in 
the  same  relation  to  foreign  countries  which  the  Western 
States  now  bear  the  Eastern.  When,  by  a  tax  on  resident 
stockholders,  the  stock  of  this  bank  is  made  worth  ten  or 
fifteen  per  cent,  more  to  foreigners  than  to  residents,  most 
of  it  will  inevitably  leave  the  country. 

Thus  will  this  provision,  in  its  practical  effect,  deprive 
the  Eastern  as  well  as  the  Southern  and  Western  states  of 
the  means  of  raising  a  revenue  from  the  extension  of  busi 
ness  and  great  profits  of  this  institution.  It  will  make 
the  American  people  debtors  to  aliens,  in  nearly  the  whole 
amount  due  to  this  bank,  and  send  across  the  Atlantic 
from  two  to  five  millions  of  specie  every  year,  to  pay  the 
bank  dividends. 

In  another  of  its  bearings,  this  provision  is  fraught  with 
danger.  Of  che  twenty-five  directors  of  this  bank,  five 
are  chosen  by  the  government,  and  twenty  by  the  citizen 
stockholders.  From  all  voice  in  these  elections,  the  fo 
reign  stockholders  are  excluded  by  the  charter.  In  pro 
portion,  therefore,  as  the  stock  is  transferred  to  foreign 
holders,  the  extent  of  suffrage  in  the  choice  of  directors  is 
curtailed.  Already  is  almost  a  third  of  the  stock  in  foreign 
hands,  and  not  represented  in  elections.  It  is  constantly 


248  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

passkig  out  of  the  country,  and  this  act  will  accelerate  its 
departure.  The  entire  control  of  the  institution  would 
necessarily  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  few  citizen  stock 
holders,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  object  would  be  ac 
complished,  would  be  a  temptation  to  designing  men,  to 
secure  that  control  in  their  own  hands,  by  monopolizing 
the  remaining  stock.  There  is  danger  that  a  president 
and  directors  would  then  be  able  to  elect  themselves  from 
year  to  year,  and  without  responsibility  or  control,  manage 
the  whole  concerns  of  the  bank  during  the  existence  of 
the  charter.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  that  great  evils  to  our 
country  and  its  institutions  might  flow  from  such  a  con 
centration  of  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  irresponsi 
ble  to  the  people. 

Is  there  no  danger  to  our  liberty  and  independence  in 
a  bank,  that,  in  its  nature,  has  so  little  to  bind  it  to  our 
country  ?  The  president  of  the  bank  has  told  us  that 
most  of  the  state  banks  exist  by  its  forbearance.  .Should 
its  influence  become  concentred,  as  it  may  under  the 
operation  of  such  an  act  as  this,  in  the  hands  of  a  self- 
elected  directory,  whose  interests  are  identified  with  those 
of  the  foreign  stockholder,  will  there  not  be  cause  to  trem 
ble  for  the  purity  of  our  elections  in  peace,  and  for  the 
independence  of  our  country  in  war  ?  Their  power  would 
be  great  whenever  they  might  choose  to  exert  it ;  but  if 
this  monopoly  were  regularly  renewed  every  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  on  terms  proposed  by  themselves,  they 
might  seldom  in  peace  put  forth  their  strength  to  influence 
elections  or  control  the  affairs  of  the  nation ;  but  if  any 
private  citizen  or  public  functionary  should  interpose  to 
curtail  its  powers,  or  prevent  a  renewal  of  its  privileges, 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  would  be  made  to  feel  its 
influence. 

Should  the  stock  of  the  bank  principally  pass  into  the 
hands  of  the  subjects  of  a  foreign  country,  and  we  should 
unfortunately  become  involved  in  a  war  with  that  country, 
what  would  be  our  condition  ?  Of  the  course  which  would 
be  pursued  by  a  bank  almost  wholly  owned  by  the  subjects 
of  a  foreign  power,  and  managed  by  those  whose  interests, 
if  not  affections,  would  run  in  the  same  direction:  there 


VETO    OF    THE    BANK    BILL.  249 

can  be  no  doubt.  All  its  operations  within  would  be  i. 
aid  of  the  hostile  fleets  and  armies  without.  Controlling 
our  currency,  receiving  our  public  moneys,  and  holding 
thousands  of  our  citizens  in  dependence,  it  would  be  more 
formidable  and  dangerous  than  the  naval  and  military 
power  of  the  enemy. 

If  we  must  have  a  bank  with  private  stockholders,  every 
onsideration  of  sound  policy,  and  every  impulse  of  Ame- 
ican  feeling,  admonishes  that  it  should  be  purely  American, 
its  stockholders  should  be  composed  exclusively  of  our 
own  citizens,  who  at  least  ought  to  be  friendly  to  our 
government,  and  willing  to  support  it  in  times  of  difficulty 
and  danger.  So  abundant  is  domestic  capital,  that  com 
petition  in  subscribing  for  the  stock  of  local  banks  has 
recently  led  almost  to  riots.  To  a  bank  exclusively  of 
American  stockholders,  possessing  the  powers  and  pri 
vileges  granted  by  this  act,  subscriptions  for  two  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  could  be  readily  obtained.  Instead  of 
sending  abroad  the  stock  of  the  bank,  in  which  the  govern  - 
ment  must  deposit  its  funds,  and  on  which  it  must  rely  to 
sustain  its  credit  in  times  of  emergency,  it  would  rather 
seem  to  be  expedient  to  prohibit  its  sale  to  aliens,  under 
penalty  of  absolute  forfeiture. 

It  is  maintained  by  the  advocates  of  the  bank,  that  its 
constitutionality  in  all  its  features  ought  to  be  considered 
as  settled  by  precedent,  and  by  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  To  this  conclusion  I  cannot  assent.  Mere  prece 
dent  is  a  dangerous  source  of  authority,  and  should  not  be 
regarded  as  deciding  questions  of  constitutional  power, 
except  where  the  acquiescence  of  the  people  and  the 
states  can  be  considered  as  well  settled.  So  far  from  this 
being  the  case  on  this  subject,  an  argument  against  the 
bank  might  be  based  on  precedent.  One  Congress,  in 
1791,  decided  in  favor  of  a  bank;  another,  in  1811,  de 
cided  against  it.  One  Congress,  in  1815,  decided  against 
a  bank;  another,  in  1810,  decided  in  its  favor.  Prior  to 
the  present  Congress,  therefore,  the  precedents  drawn 
from  that  source  were  equal.  If  we  resort  to  the  states, 
the  expressions  of  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  opi 
nions  against  the  bank  have  been  probably,  to  those  in  its 


250  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

favor,  as  four  to  one.  There  is  nothing  in  precedent, 
therefore,  which,  if  its  authority  were  admitted,  ought  to 
weigh  in  favor  of  the  act  before  me. 

If  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  covered  the  who.e 
ground  of  this  act,  it  ought  not  to  control  the  co-ordinate 
authorities  of  this  government.  The  Congress,  the  Execu 
tive,  and  the  Court,  must  each  for  itself  be  guided  by  its 
own  opinion  of  the  Constitution.  Each  public  officer  who 
takes  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution,  swears  that  he 
will  support  it  as  he  understands  it,  and  not  as  it  is  under 
stood  by  others.  It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  of  the  Senate,  and  of  the  President,  to 
decide  upon  the  constitutionality  of  any  bill  or  resolution 
which  may  be  presented  to  them  for  passage  or  approval, 
as  it  is  of  the  Supreme  Judges,  when  it  may  be  brought 
before  them  for  judicial  decision.  The  opinion  of  the 
Judges  has  no  more  authority  over  Congress  than  the  opi 
nion  of  Congress  has  over  the  Judges;  and,  on  that  point, 
the  President  is  independent  of  both.  The  authority  of 
the  Supreme  Court  must  not,  therefore,  be  permitted  to 
control  the  Congress  or  the  Executive,  when  acting  in  their 
legislative  capacities,  but  to  have  only  such  influence  as 
the  force  of  their  reasoning  may  deserve. 

But,  in  the  case  relied  upon,  the  Supreme  Court  have 
not  decided  that  all  the  features  of  this  corporation  are 
compatible  with  the  Constitution.  It  is  true  that  the  Court 
have  said  that  the  law  incorporating  the  bank  is  a  consti 
tutional  exercise  of  power  by  Congress.  But,  taking  into 
view  the  whole  opinion  of  the  Court,  and  the  reasoning  by 
which  they  have  come  to  that  conclusion,  I  understand 
them  to  have  decided  that,  inasmuch  as  a  bank  is  an 
appropriate  means  of  carrying  into  effect  the  enumerated 
powers  of  the  general  government,  therefore  the  law  in 
corporating  it  is  in  accordance  with  that  provision  of  the 
Constitution  which  declares  that  Congress  shall  have  power 
"  to  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
for  carrying  those  powers  into  execution."  Having  satis 
fied  themselves  that  the  word  "  netessary,"  in  the  Consti 
tution,  means  "needful,"  "requisite,"  "  essential-*"  "  con- 
Mcive  to,"  and  that  "  a  bank"  is  a  convenient,  a  useful, 


VETO    OF    THE    BANK    BILL.  251 

and  essential  instrument  in  the  prosecution  of  the  govern 
ment's  "  fiscal  operations,"  they  conclude  that  "to  use  one 
must  be  within  the  discretion  of  Congress;"  and  that  "the 
act  to  incorporate  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  is  a  law 
made  in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution."  "  But,"  say  they, 
"  where  the  law  is  not  prohibited,  and  is  really  calculated 
to  effect  any  of  the  objects  intrusted  to  the  government, 
to  undertake  here  to  inquire  into  the  degree  of  its  necessity, 
would  be  to  pass  the  line  which  circumscribes  the  judicial 
department,  and  to  tread  on  legislative  ground." 

The  principle  here  affirmed  is,  that  "  the  degree  of  its 
necessity,"  involving  all  the  details  of  a  banking  institu 
tion,  is  a  question  exclusively  for  legislative  consideration. 
A  bank  is  constitutional ;  but  it  is  the  province  of  the 
legislature  to  determine  whether  this  or  that  particular 
power,  privilege,  or  exemption,  is  "necessary  and  proper" 
to  enable  the  bank  to  discharge  its  duties  to  the  govern 
ment,  and  from  their  decision  there  is  no  appeal  to  the 
courts  of  justice.  Under  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  therefore,  it  is  the  exclusive  province  of  Congress 
and  the  President  to  decide,  whether  the  particular  features 
of  this  act  are  "  necessary  and  proper,"  in  order  to  enable 
the  bank  to  perform  conveniently  and  efficiently  the  public 
duties  assigned  to  it  as  a  fiscal  agent,  and  therefore  con 
stitutional  ;  or  unnecessary  and  improper,  and  therefore 
unconstitutional. 

Without  commenting  on  the  general  principle  affirmed 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  let  us  examine  the  details  of  this 
act,  in  accordance  with  the  rule  of  legislative  action  which 
they  have  laid  down.  It  will  be  found  that  many  of  the 
powers  and  privileges  conferred  on  it  cannot  be  supposed 
necessary  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is,  proposed  to  be 
created,  and  are  not,  therefore,  means  necessary  to  attain 
the  end  in  view,  and  consequently  not  justified  by  the 
Constitution. 

The  original  act  of  corporation,  section  twenty-first, 
enacts  "  that  no  other  bank  shall  ta  established  by  any 
future  law  of  the  United  States,  during  the  continuance 
of  the  corporation  hereby  created,  for  which  the  faith  of 
the  United  States  is  hereby  pledged  Provided,  Congress 


262  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

may  renew  existing  charters  for  banks  within  the  Distric1 
of  Columbia,  not  increasing  the  capital  thereof,  and  maj 
also  establish  any  other  bank  or  banks  in  said  District, 
with  capitals  not  exceeding,  in  the  whole,  six  millions  oi 
dollars,  if  they  shall  deem  it  expedient."  This  provisioi 
is  continued  in  force,  by  the  act  before  me,  fifteen  year; 
from  the  3d  of  March,  1836. 

If  Congress  possessed  the  power  to  establish  one  bank, 
they  had  power  to  establish  more  than  one,  if,  in  their 
opinion,  two  or  more  banks  had  been  "necessary"  to  faci 
litate  the  execution  of  the  powers  delegated  to  them  by  th*. 
Constitution.  If  they  possessed  the  power  to  establish  t 
second  bank,  it  was  a  power  derived  from  the  Constitu 
tion,  to  be  exercised  from  time  to  time,  and  at  any  tinu 
when  the  interests  of  the  country  or  the  emergencies 
of  the  government  might  make  it  expedient.  It  was  pos 
sessed  by  one  Congress  as  well  as  another,  and  by  al 
Congresses  alike,  and  alike  at  every  session.  But  tht 
Congress  of  1810  have  taken  it  away  from  their  successors 
for  twenty  years,  and  the  Congress  of  1832  proposed  U 
abolish  it  for  fifteen  years  more.  It  cannot  be  "  necessary" 
or  "proper"  for  Congress  to  barter  away,  or  divest  them 
selves  of  any  of  the  powers  vested  in  them  by  the  Con 
stitution,  to  be  exercised  for  the  public  good.  It  is  no! 
"  necessary"  to  the  efficiency  of  the  bank,  nor  is  it  "  pro 
per"  in  relation  to  themselves  and  their  successors.  They 
may  properly  use  the  discretion  vested  in  them,  but  they 
may  not  limit  the  discretion  of  their  successors.  This 
restriction  on  themselves,  and  grant  of  a  monopoly  to  the 
bank,  is  therefore  unconstitutional. 

In  another  point  of  view,  this  provision  is  a  palpably 
attempt  to  amend  the  Constitution  by  an  act  of  legislation. 
The  Constitution  declares  that  "  the  Congress  shall  have 
power"  to  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  what 
soever,  over  the  District  of  Columbia.  Its  constitutional 
power,  therefore,  to  establish  banks  in  the  District  of  Co 
lumbia,  and  increase  their  capital  at  will,  is  unlimited  and 
uncontrollable  by  any  other  power  than  that  which  gave 
authority  to  the  Constitution.  Yet  this  act  declares  that 
Congress  shall  not  increase  the  capital  of  existing  banks 


VETO  OF  THE  BANK  BILL.    .         253 

nor  create  other  banks  with  capitals  exceeding  in  the 
whole  six  millions  of  dollars.  The  Constitution  declares 
that  Congress  shall  have  power  to  exercise  exclusive 
legislation  over  this  district,  "in  all  cases  whatsoever ;" 
and  this  act  declares  they  shall  not.  Which  is  the  su 
preme  law  of  the  land  ?  This  provision  cannot  be  "  neces 
sary"  or  "proper"  or  constitutional,  unless  the  absurdity 
be  admitted,  that  whenever  it  be  "  necessary  and  proper," 
n  the  opinion  of  Congress,  they  have  a  right  to  barter 
way  one  portion  of  the  powers  vested  in  them  by  the 
Constitution,  as  a  means  of  executing  the  rest. 

On  two  subjects  only  does  the  Constitution  recognise  in 
Congress  the  power  to  grant  exclusive  privileges  or  mo 
nopolies.  It  declares  that  "Congress  shall  have  power 
to  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by 
securing,  for  limited  times,  to  authors  and  inventors,  the 
exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and  dis 
coveries."  Out  of  this  express  delegation  of  power,  have 
grown  our  laws  of  patents  and  copyrights.  As  the  Con 
stitution  expressly  delegates  to  Congress  the  power  to 
grant  exclusive  privileges,  in  these  cases,  as  the  means 
of  executing  the  substantive  power  "  to  promote  the  pro 
gress  of  science  and  useful  arts,"  it  is  consistent  with  the 
fair  rules  of  construction  to  conclude,  that  such  a  power 
was  not  intended  to  be  granted  as  a  means  of  accomplish 
ing  any  other  end.  On  every  other  subject  which  comes 
within  the  scope  of  congressional  power,  there  is  an  ever- 
living  discretion  in  the  use  of  proper  means,  which  can 
not  be  restricted  or  abolished  without  an  amendment  of 
the  Constitution.  Every  act  of  Congress,  therefore,  which 
attempts,  by  grants  of  monopolies,  or  sale  of  exclusive 
privileges  for  a  limited  time,  or  a  time  without  limit,  to 
restrict  or  extinguish  its  own  discretion  in  the  choice  of 
means  to  execute  its  delegated  powers,  is  equivalent  to  a 
legislative  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  and  palpably 
unconstitutional. 

This  act  authorizes  and  encourages  transfers  of  its  stock 
to  foreigners,  and  grants  them  an  exemption  from  all  state 
and  national  taxation.  So  far  from  being  "  necessary  and 
proper"  that  the  bank  should  possess  this  power,  to  mak-j 


U54  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

it  a  safe  and  efficient  agent  of  the  government  in  its  fiscal 
operations,  it  is  calculated  to  convert  the  Bank  of  th? 
United  States  into  a  foreign  bank,  to  impoverish  our 
people  in  time  of  peace,  to  disseminate  a  foreign  influ 
ence  through  every  section  of  the  republic,  and,  in  war,  tD 
endanger  our  independence. 

The  several  states  reserved  the  power,  at  the  formation 
of  the  Constitution,  to  regulate  and  control  titles  and  trans 
fers  of  real  property  ;  and  most,  if  not  all  of  them,  havu 
laws  disqualifying  aliens  from  acquiring  or  holding  lands 
within  their  limits.  But  this  act,  in  disregard  of  the  un 
doubted  right  of  the  states  to  prescribe  such  disqualifica 
tions,  gives  to  aliens,  stockholders  in  this  bank,  an  interest 
and  title,  as  members  of  the  corporation,  to  all  the  real 
property  it  may  acquire  within  any  of  the  states  of  this 
Union.  This  privilege  granted  to  aliens  is  not^"  neces 
sary"  to  enable  the  bank  to  perform  its  public  duties,  no  • 
in  any  sense  "  proper,"  because  it  is  virtually  subversive 
of  the  rights  of  the  states. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  have  no  constitu 
tional  power  to  purchase  lands  within  the  states,  excepi 
"  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards, 
and  other  needful  buildings,"  and  even  for  these  objects, 
only  "  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  state  in 
which  the  same  shall  be."  By  making  themselves  stock 
holders  in  the  bank,  and  granting  to  the  corporation  the 
power  to  purchase  lands  for  other  purposes,  they  assume 
a  power  not  granted  in  the  Constitution,  and  grant  to 
others  what  they  do  not  themselves  possess.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  the  receiving,  safe-keeping,  or  transmission 
of  the  funds  of  government,  that  the  bank  should  possess 
this  power,  and  it  is  not  proper  that  Congress  should  thus 
enlarge  the  powers  delegated  to  them  in  the  Constitution. 

The  old  Bank  of  the  United  States  possessed  a  capital 
of  only  eleven  million  of  dollars,  which  was  found  fully 
sufficient  to  enable  it,  with  despatch  and  safety,  to  per 
form  all  the  functions  required  of  it  by  the  government 
The  capital  of  the  present  bank  is  thirty-five  millions  o 
dollars,  at  least  twenty-four  more  than  experience  has 
proved  to  be  necessary  to  enable  a  bank  to  perform  its 


VETO  OF  THE  BANK  BILL.  255 

public  functions.  The  public  debt  which  existed  during 
the  period  of  the  old  bank,  and  on  the  establishment  of 
the  new,  has  been  nearly  paid  off,  and  our  revenue  will 
soon  be  reduced.  This  increase  of  capital  is,  therefore, 
not  for  public,  but  for  private  purposes. 

The  government  is  the  only  "  proper"  judge  where 
its  agents  should  reside  and  keep  their  offices,  because  it 
best  knows  where  their  presence  will  be  "necessary." 
It  cannot,  therefore,  be  "  necessary"  or  "*proper"  to  au 
thorize  the  bank  to  locate  branches  where  it  pleases,  to 
perform  the  public  service  without  consulting  the  govern 
ment,  and  contrary  to  its  will.  The  principle  laid  do\vn 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  concedes  that  Congress  cannot 
establish  a  bank  for  purposes  of  private  speculation  and 
gain,  but  only  as  a  means  of  executing  the  delegated 
powers  of  the  general  government.  By  the  same  princi 
ple,  a  branch  bank  cannot  constitutionally  be  established 
for  other  than  public  purposes.  The  power  which  this 
act  gives  to  establish  two  branches  in  any  state,  without 
the  injunction  or  request  of  the  government,  and  for  other 
than  public  purposes,  is  riot  "  necessary"  to  the  due  exe 
cution  of  the  powers  delegated  to  Congress. 

The  bonus  which  is  exacted  from  the  bank,  is  a  con 
fession  upon  the  face  of  the  act,  that  the  powers  granted 
by  it  are  greater  than  are  "  necessary"  to  its  character  of 
a  fiscal  agent.  The  government  does  not  tax  its  officers 
and  agents  for  the  privilege  of  serving  it.  The  bonus 
of  a  million  and  a  half,  required  by  the  original  charter, 
and  that  of  three  millions  proposed  by  this  act,  are  not 
exacted  for  the  privilege  of  giving  "  the  necessary  facili 
ties  for  transferring  the  public  funds  from  place  to  place, 
within  the  United  States  or  the  territories  thereof,  and  for 
distributing  the  same  in  payment  of  the  public  creditors, 
without  charging  commission,  or  claiming  allowance  on 
account  of  the  difference  of  exchange,"  as  required  by 
the  act  of  incorporation,  but  for  something  more  beneficial 
to  the  stockholders.  The  original  act  declares,  that  it  (the 
bonus)  is  granted  "  in  consideration  of  the  exclusive  pri 
vileges  and  benefits  conferred  by  this  act  upon  the  said 
bank  ;"  and  the  act  before  me  declares  it  to  be  "  in  con- 


256  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

sideration  of  the  exclusive  benefits  and  privileges  con 
tinued  by  this  act  to  the  said  corporation  for  fifteen  years 
as  aforesaid."  It  is,  therefore,  for  "exclusive  privileges 
and  benefits,"  conferred  for  their  own  use  and  emolument, 
and  not  for  the  advantage  of  the  government,  that  a  bonus 
is  exacted.  These  surplus  powers,  for  which  the  bank 
is  required  to  pay,  cannot  surely  be  "  necessary,"  to  make 
it  the  fiscal  agent  of  the  treasury.  If  they  were,  the  ex 
action  of  a  bonus  for  them,  would  not  be  "proper." 

It  is  maintained  by  some,  that  the  bank  is  a  means  of 
executing  the  constitutional  power  "  to  coin  money,  and 
regulate  the  value  thereof."  Congress  have  established 
a  mint  to  coin  money,  and  passed  laws  to  regulate  the 
value  thereof.  The  money  so  coined,  with  its  value  so 
regulated,  and  such  foreign  coins  as  Congress  may  adopt, 
are  the  only  currency  known  to  the  Constitution.  But  if 
they  have  other  power  to  regulate  the  currency,  it  was 
conferred  to  be  exercised  by  themselves,  and  not  to  be 
transferred  to  a  corporation.  If  the  bank  be  established 
for  that  purpose,  with  a  charter  unalterable  without  its 
consent,  Congress  have  parted  with  their  power  for  a 
term  of  years,  during  which  the  Constitution  is  a  dead 
letter.  It  is  neither  necessary  nor  proper  to  transfer  its 
legislative  powers  to  such  a  bank,  and  therefore  unconsti 
tutional. 

By  its  silence,  considered  in  connection  with  the  de 
cision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  the  case  of  McCulloch 
against  the  State  of  Maryland,  this  act  takes  from  the 
states  the  power  to  tax  a  portion  of  the  banking  business 
carried  on  within  their  limits,  in  subversion  of  one  of  the 
strongest  barriers  which  secured  them  against  federal  en 
croachments.  Banking,  like  farming,  manufacturing,  or 
any  other  occupation  or  profession,  is  a  business,  the  right 
to  follow  which  is  not  originally  derived  from  the  laws. 
Every  citizen,  and  every  company  of  citizens,  in  all  of 
our  states,  possessed  the  right,  until  the  state  legislatures 
deemed  it  good  policy  to  prohibit  private  banking  by  law. 
If  the  prohibitory  state  laws  were  now  repealed,  every 
citizen  would  again  possess  the  right.  The  state  banks 
are  a  qualified  restoration  of  the  right  which  has  been 


VETO  OF  THE  BANK  BILL.  257 

taken  away  by  the  laws  against  banking1,  guarded  by  such 
provisions  and  limitations  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the  state 
legislatures,  the  public  interest  requires.  These  corpo 
rations,  unless  there  be  an  exemption  in  their  charter,  are, 
like  private  bankers  and  banking  companies,  subject  to 
state  taxation.  The  manner  in  which  these  taxes  shall 
be  laid,  depends  wholly  on  legislative  discretion.  It  may 
e  upon  the  bank,  upon  the  stock,  upon  the  profits,  or  in 
any  other  mode  which  the  sovereign  power  shall  will. 

Upon  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  the  states  guarded 
their  taxing  power  with  peculiar  jealousy.  They  sur 
rendered  it  only  as  it  regards  imports  and  exports.  In 
relation  to  every  other  subject  within  their  jurisdiction, 
whether  persons,  property,  business,  or  professions,  it  was 
secured  in  as  ample  a  manner  as  it  was  before  possessed. 
All  persons,  though  United  States'  officers,  are  liable  to  a 
poll  tax  by  the  states  within  which  they  reside.  The  lands 
of  the  United  States  are  liable  to  the  usual  land  tax,  ex 
cept  in  the  new  states,  from  whom  agreements,  that  they 
will  not  tax  unsold  lands,  are  exacted  when  they  are 
admitted  into  the  Union :  horses,  wagons,  any  beasts  or 
vehicles,  tools  or  property,  belonging  to  private  citizens, 
though  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  are 
subject  to  state  taxation.  Every  private  business,  whether 
carried  on  by  an  officer  of  the  general  government  or  not, 
whether  it  be  mixed  with  public  concerns  or  not,  even  if 
it  be  carried  on  by  the  government  of  the  United  States 
itself,  separately  or  in  partnership,  falls  within  the  scope 
of  the  taxing  power  of  the  state.  Nothing  comes  more 
fully  within  it  than  banks,  and  the  business  of  banking,  by 
whomsoever  instituted  and  carried  on.  Over  this  whole 
subject-matter,  it  is  just  as  absolute,  unlimited,  and  uncon 
trollable,  as  if  the  Constitution  had  never  been  adopted, 
because,  in  the  formation  of  that  instrument,  it  was  reserved 
without  qualification. 

The  principle  is  conceded,  that  the  states  cannot  right 
fully  tax  the  operations  of  the  general  government.  They 
cannot  tax  the  money  of  the  government  deposited  in  the 
state  banks,  nor  the  agency  of  those  banks  in  remitting 
it;  but  will  any  man  maintain  that  their  mere  selection  to 


258  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

perform  this  public  service  for  the  general  government, 
would  exempt  the  state  banks,  and  their  ordinary  business, 
from  state  taxation  ?  Had  the  United  States,  instead  of 
establishing  a  bank  at  Philadelphia,  employed  a  private 
banker  to  keep  and  transmit  their  funds,  would  it  have 
deprived  Pennsylvania  of  the  right  to  tax  his  bank  -and 
his  usual  banking  operations  ?  It  will  not  be  pretended. 
Upon  what  principle,  then,  are  the  banking  establishments 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  their  usual  banking 
operations,  to  be  exempted  from  taxation  ?  It  is  not  their 
public  agency,  or  the  deposits  of  the  government,  which 
the  states  claim  a  right  to  tax,  but  their  banks  and  their 
banking  powers,  instituted  and  exercised  within  state 
jurisdiction  for  their  private  emolument — those  powers 
and  privileges  for  which  they  pay  a  bonus,  and  which  the 
states  tax  in  their  own  banks.  The  exercise  of  these 
powers  within  a  state,  no  matter  by  whom  or  under  what 
authority,  whether  by  private  citizens  in  their  original 
right,  by  corporate  bodies  created  by  the  states,  by  foreign 
ers,  or  the  agents  of  foreign  governments  located  within 
their  limits,  forms  a  legitimate  object  of  state  taxation. 
From  this,  and  like  sources,  from  the  persons,  property, 
and  business,  that  are  found  residing,  located,  or  carried 
on,  under  their  jurisdiction,  must  the  states,  since  the 
surrender  of  their  right  to  raise  a  revenue  from  imports 
and  exports,  draw  all  the  money  necessary  for  the  support 
of  their  governments,  and  the  maintenance  of  their  inde 
pendence.  There  is  no  more  appropriate  subject  of  taxa 
tion  than  banks,  banking,  and  bank  stock,  and  none  to 
which  the  states  ought  more  pertinaciously  to  cling. 

It  cannot  be  necessary  to  the  character  of  the  bank,  as 
a  fiscal  agent  of  the  government,  that  its  private  business 
should  be  exempted  from  that  taxation  to  which  all  tha 
state  banks  are  liable  ;  nor  can  I  conceive  it  "  proper"  tha 
the  substantive  and  most  essential  powers  reserved  by  the 
states  shall  be  thus  attacked  and  annihilated  as  a  means 
of  executing  the  powers  delegated  to  the  general  govern 
ment.  It  may  be  safely  assumed  that  none  of  those  sages 
who  had  an  agency  in  forming  or  adopting  our  Constitu 
tion,  ever  imagined  that  any  portion  of  the  taxing  power 


VETO    OF   THE    BANK    BILL.  259 

of  the  states,  not  prohibited  to  them,  nor  delegated  to 
Congress,  was  to  be  swept  away  and  annihilated,  as  a 
means  of  executing  certain  powers  delegated  to  Congress. 
If  our  power  over  means  is  so  absolute,  that  the  Supreme 
Court  will  not  call  in  question  the  constitutionality  of  an 
act  of  Congress,  the  subject  of  which  is  "  not  prohibited, 
and  is  really  calculated  to  effect  any  of  the  objects  intrusted 
to  the  government,"  although,  as  in  the  case  before  me, 
it  ta;~es  away  powers  expressly  granted  to  Congress,  and 
rights  scrupulously  reserved  to  the  states,  it  becomes  us 
to  proceed  in  our  legislation  with  the  utmost  caution. 
Though  not  directly,  our  own  powers  and  the  rights  of 
the  states  may  be  indirectly  legislated  away  in  the  use  of 
means  to  execute  substantive  powers.  We  may  not  enact 
that  Congress  shall  not  have  the  power  of  exclusive  legis 
lation  over  the  District  of  Columbia  ;  but  we  may  pledge 
the  faith  of  the  United  States,  that,  as  a  means  of  execut 
ing  other  powers,  it  shall  not  be  exercised  for  twenty  years, 
or  for  ever !  We  may  not  pass  an  act  prohibiting  the 
states  to  tax  the  banking  business  carried  on  within  their 
limits;  but  we  may,  as  a  means  of  executing  our  powers 
over  other  objects,  place  that  business  in  the  hands  of  our 
agents,  and  then  declare  it  exempt  from  state  taxation  in 
their  hands  !  Thus  may  our  own  powers,  and  the  rights 
of  the  states,  which  we  cannot  directly  curtail  or  invade, 
be  frittered  away  and  extinguished  in  the  use  of  means 
employed  by  us  to  execute  other  powers.  That  a  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  competent  to  all  the  duties  which  may 
be  required  by  the  government,  might  be  so  organized  as 
not  to  infringe  on  our  own  delegated  powers,  or  the 
reserved  rights  of  the  states,  I  do  not  entertain  a  doubt. 
Had  the  Executive  been  called  upon  to  furnish  the  pro 
ject  of  such  an  institution,  the  duty  would  have  been 
cheerfully  performed.  In  the  absence  of  such  a  call,  it 
was  obviously  proper  that  he  should  confine  himself  to 
pointing  out  those  prominent  features  in  the  act  presented, 
which,  in  his  opinion,  make  it  incompatible  with  the  Con 
stitution  and  sound  policy.  A  general  discussion  will  now 
take  place,  eliciting  new  light,  and  settling  important 
principles ;  and  a  new  Congress,  elected  in  the  midst  of 
13 


260  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

such  discussion,  and  furnishing  an  equal  representation 
of  the  people,  according  to  the  last  census,  will  bear  to 
the  Capitol  the  verdict  of  public  opinion,  and,  I  doubt  not, 
'bring  this  important  question  to  a  satisfactory  result. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  bank  comes  forward  and 
asks  a  renewal  of  its  charter  for  a  terra  of  fifteen  years, 
upon  conditions  which  not  only  operate  as  a  gratuity  to 
the  stockholders,  of  many  millions  of  dollars,  but  will 
sanction  any  abuses,  and  legalize  any  encroachments. 

Suspicions  are  entertained,  and  charges  are  made,  of 
gross  abuse  and  violation  of  its  charter.  An  investigation, 
unwillingly  conceded,  and  so  restricted  in  time  as  neces 
sarily  to  make  it  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory,  disclosed 
enough  to  excite  suspicion  and  alarm.  In  the  practices 
of  the  principal  bank,  partially  unveiled  in  the  absence 
of  important  witnesses,  and  in  numerous  charges  confi 
dently  made,  and  as  yet  wholly  uninvestigated,  there  was 
enough  to  induce  a  majority  of  the  committee  of  investiga 
tion,  a  committee  which  was  selected  from  the  most  able 
and  honorable  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
to  recommend  a  suspension  of  farther  action  upon  the 
bill,  and  a  prosecution  of  the  inquiry.  As  the  charter 
had  yet  four  years  to  run,  and  as  a  renewal  now  was  not 
necessary  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  its  business,  it 
was  to  have  been  expected  that  the  bank  itself,  conscious 
of  its  purity,  and  proud  of  its  character,  would  have  with 
drawn  its  application  for  the  present,  and  demanded  the 
severest  scrutiny  into  all  its  transactions.  In  their  de 
clining  to  do  so,  there  seems  to  be  an  additional  reason  why 
the  functionaries  of  the  government  should  proceed  with 
less  haste,  and  more  caution,  in  the  renewal  of  their  mo 
nopoly. 

The  bank  is  professedly  established  as  an  agent  of  the 
executive  branches  of  the  government,  and  its  constitu 
tionality  is  maintained  on  that  ground.  Neither  upon  the 
propriety  of  present  action,  nor  upon  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  was  the  Executive  consulted.  It  has  had  no  opportu 
nity  to  say,  that  it  neither  needs  nor  wants  an  agent  clothed 
with  such  powers,  and  favored  by  such  exemptions.  There 
is  nothing  in  its  legitimate  functions  which  makes  it  neces- 


VETO  OF  THE  BANK  BILL.  261 

sary  or  proper.  Whatever  interest  or  influence,  whether 
public  or  private,  has  given  birth  to  this  act,  it  cannot  be 
found  either  in  the  wishes  or  necessities  of  the  Executive 
Department,  b}^  which  present  action  is  deemed  premature, 
and  the  powers  conferred  upon  its  agent  not  only  unneces 
sary,  but  dangerous  to  the  government  and  country. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  rich  and  powerful  too  often 
bend  the  acts  of  government  to  their  selfish  purposes. 
Distinctions  in  society  will  always  exist  under  every  just 
government.  Equality  of  talents,  of  education,  or  of  wealth, 
cannot  be  produced  by  human  institutions.  In  the  full 
enjoyment  of  the  gifts  of  Heaven,  and  the  fruits  of  supe 
rior  industry,  economy,  and  virtue,  every  man  is  equally 
entitled  to  protection  by  law.  But  when  the  laws  under 
take  to  add  to  these  natural  and  just  advantages  artificial 
distinctions — to  grant  titles,  gratuities,  and  exclusive  pri 
vileges — to  make  the  rich  richer,  and  the  potent  more 
powerful — the  humble  members  of  society,  the  farmers, 
mechanics,  and  laborers,  who  have  neither  the  time  nor 
the  means  of  securing  like  favors  to  themselves,  have 
a  right  to  complain  of  the  injustice  of  their  government. 
There  are  no  necessary  evils  in  government.  Its  evils 
exist  only  in  its  abuses.  If  it  would  confine  itself  to  equal 
protection,  and,  as  Heaven  does  its  rains,  shower  its  favors 
alike  on  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  it 
would  be  an  unqualified  blessing.  In  the  act  before  me, 
there  seems  to  be  a  wide  and  unnecessary  departure  from 
these  just  principles. 

Nor  is  our  government  to  be  maintained,  or  our  Union 
preserved,  by  invasions  of  the  rights  and  powers  of  the 
several  states.  In  thus  attempting  to  make  our  general 
government  strong,  we  make  it  weak.  Its  true  strength 
consists  in  leaving  individuals  and  states,  as  much  as  pos- 
ible.  to  themselves  ;  in  making  itself  felt,  not  in  its  power, 
but  in  its  beneficence — not  in  its  control,  but  in  its  protec 
tion — not  in  binding  the  states  more  closely  to  the  centre, 
but  leaving  each  to  move,  unobstructed,  in  its  proper  orbit. 

Experience  should  teach  us  wisdom.  Most  of  the  dif 
ficulties  our  government  now  encounters,  and  most  of  the 
dangers  which  impend  over  our  Union,  have  sprung  from 


262  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

an  abandonment  of  the  legitimate  objects  of  government 
by  our  national  legislation,  and  the  adoption  of  such  prin 
ciples  as  are  imbodied  in  this  act.  Many  of  our  *ich  men 
have  not  been  content  with  equal  protection  and  equal 
benefits,  but  have  besought  us  to  make  them  richer  by  acts 
of  Congress.  By  attempting  to  gratify  their  desires,  we 
have,  in  the  results  of  our  legislation,  arrayed  section 
against  section,  interest  against  interest,  and  man  against 
man,  in  a  fearful  commotion,  which  threatens  to  shake  the 
foundations  of  our  Union.  It  is  time  to  pause  in  our 
career,  to  review  our  principles,  and,  if  possible,  revive 
that  devoted  patriotism,  and  spirit  of  compromise,  which 
distinguished  the  sages  of  the  Revolution  and  the  fathers 
of  our  Union.  If  we  cannot,  at  once,  in  justice  to  inte 
rests  vested  under  improvident  legislation,  make  our  go 
vernment  what  it  ought  to  be,  we  can,  at  least,  take  a 
stand  against  all  new  grants  of  monopolies  and  exclusive 
privileges,  against  any  prostitution  of  our  government  to 
the  advancement  of  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many, 
and  in  favor  of  compromise  and  gradual  reform  in  our 
code  of  laws  and  system  of  political  economy. 

I  have  now  done  my  duty  to  rny  country.  If  sustained 
by  my  fellow-citizens,  I  shall  be  grateful  and  happy  :  if 
not,  I  shall  find  in  the  motives  which  impel  me,  ample 
grounds  for  contentment  and  peace.  In  the  difficulties 
which  surround  us,  and  the  dangers  which  threaten  our 
institutions,  there  is  cause  for  neither  dismay  or  alarm. 
For  relief  and  deliverance,  let  us  firmly  rely  on  that  kind 
Providence  which,  I  am  sure,  watches  with  peculiar  care 
over  the  destinies  of  our  republic,  and  on  the  intelligence 
and  wisdom  of  our  countrymen.  Through  His  abundant 
goodness,  and  their  patriotic  devotion,  our  liberty  and 
Union  will  be  preserved. 


PROCLAMATION.  263 


Proclamation  on  the  Nullification  Question. — December  11,  1832. 

WHEREAS,  a  Convention  assembled  in  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,  having  passed  an  ordinance  by  which  they 
declare,  "  That  the  several  acts  and  parts  of  acts  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  purporting  to  be  laws  for 
the  imposing  of  duties  and  imposts  on  the  importation  of 
foreign  commodities,  and  now  having  actual  operation  and 
effect  within  the  United  States,  and  more  especially,"  two 
acts  for  the  same  purpose,  passed  on  the  29th  of  May, 
1828,  and  on  the  14th  of  July,  1832,  "are  unauthorized 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  violate  the 
true  meaning  and  intent  thereof,  and  are  null  and  void, 
and  no  law,"  nor  binding  on  the  citizens  of  that  state  or 
its  officers :  and  by  the  said  ordinance,  it  is  further  de 
clared  to  be  unlawful  for  any  of  the  constituted  authorities 
of  the  state,  or  of  the  United  States,  to  enforce  the  payment 
of  the  duties  imposed  by  the  said  acts  within  the  same 
state,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  pass 
such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  to  give  full  effect  to  the 
said  ordinance : 

And  whereas,  by  the  said  ordinance,  it  is  further  or 
dained,  that  in  no  case,  of  law  or  equity,  decided  in  the 
courts  of  said  state,  wherein  shall  be  drawn  in  question 
the  validity  of  the  said  ordinance,  or  of  the  acts  of  the 
legislature  that  may  be  passed  to  give  it  effect,  or  of  the 
said  laws  of  the  United  States,  no  appeal  shall  be  allowed 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  nor  shall  any 
copy  of  the  record  be  permitted  or  allowed  for  that  pur- 
pose,  and  that  any  person  attempting  to  take  such  appeal 
shall  be  punished  as  for  a  contempt  of  court : 

And,  finally,  the  said  ordinance  declares,  that  the  people 
v>f  South  Carolina  will  maintain  the  said  ordinance  at  every 
nazard ;  and  that  they  will  consider  the  passage  of  any 


264  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

act  by  Congress,  abolishing  or  closing  the  ports  of  the  said 
state,  or  otherwise  obstructing  the  free  ingress  or  egress 
of  vessels  to  and  from  the  said  ports,  or  any  other  act  of 
the  federal  government  to  coerce  the  state,  shut  up  her 
ports,  destroy  or  harass  her  commerce,  or  to  enforce  the 
said  acts  otherwise  than  through  the  civil  tribunals  of 
the  country,  as  inconsistent  with  the  longer  continuance 
of  South  Carolina  in  the  Union  ;  and  that  the  people  of 
the  said  state  will  thenceforth  hold  themselves  absolved 
from  all  further  obligation  to  maintain  or  preserve  their 
political  connection  with  the  people  of  the  other  states. 
and  will  forthwith  proceed  to  organize  a  separate  govern 
ment,  and  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  sovereign 
and  independent  states  may  of  right  do : 

And  whereas,  the  said  ordinance  prescribes  to  the 
people  of  South  Carolina  a  course  of  conduct,  in  direct 
violation  of  their  duty  as  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  their  country,  subversive  of  its 
Constitution,  and  having  for  its  object  the  destruction  of 
the  Union — that  Union,  which,  coeval  with  our  political 
existence,  led  our  fathers,  without  any  other  ties  to  unite 
them  than  those  of  patriotism  and  a  common  cause,  through 
a  sanguinary  struggle  to  a  glorious  independence — that 
sacred  Union,  hitherto  inviolate,  which,  perfected  by  oui 
happy  Constitution,  has  brought  us,  by  the  favor  of  Heaven, 
to  a  state  of  prosperity  at  home,  and  high  consideration 
abroad,  rarely,  if  ever,  equalled  in  the  history  of  nations: 
To  preserve  this  bond  of  our  political  existence  from  de 
struction,  to  maintain  inviolate  this  state  of  national  honor 
and  prosperity,  and  to  justify  the  confidence  my  fellow- 
citizens  have  reposed  in  me,  I,  ANDREW  JACKSON,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  have  thought  proper  to  issue 
this  my  Proclamation,  stating  my  views  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  laws  applicable  to  the  measures  adopted  by  the 
Convention  of  South  Carolina,  and  to  the  reasons  they 
have  put  forth  to  sustain  them,  declaring  the  course  which 
duty  will  require  me  to  pursue,  and,  appealing  to  the 
understanding  and  patriotism  of  the  people,  warn  them  of 
the  consequences  that  must  inevitably  result  from  an  ob 
servance  of  the  dictates  of  the  Convention. 


PROCLAMATION.  05 

Strict  duty  would  require  of  me  nothing  more  than  the 
exercise  of  those  powers  with  which  I  am  now,  or  may 
hereafter  be  invested,  for  preserving  the  peace  of  the  Union, 
and  for  the  execution  of  the  laws.  But  the  imposing 
aspect  which  opposition  has  assumed  in  this  case,  by 
clothing  itself  with  state  authority,  and  the  deep  interest 
which  the  people  of  the  United  States  must  all  feel  in 
preventing  a  resort  to  stronger  measures,  \vhile  there  is  a 
hope  that  any  thing  will  be  yielded  to  reasoning  and  remon 
strance,  perhaps  demand,  and  will  certainly  justify,  a  full 
exposition  to  South  Carolina  and  the  nation,  of  the  views 
I  entertain  of  this  important  question,  as  well  as  a  distinct 
enunciation  of  the  course  which  my  sense  of  duty  will 
require  me  to  pursue. 

The  ordinance  is  founded,  not  on  the  indefeasible  right 
of  resisting  acts  which  are  plainly  unconstitutional  and  too 
oppressive  to  be  endured  ;  but  on  the  strange  position  that 
any  one  state  may  not  only  declare  an  act  of  Congress 
void,  but  prohibit  its  execution  ;  that  they  may  do  this 
consistently  with  the  Constitution  ;  that  the  true  construc 
tion  of  that  instrument  permits  a  state  to  retain  its  place 
in  the  Union,  and  yet  be  bound  by  no  other  of  its  laws 
than  it  may  choose  to  consider  constitutional.  It  is  true, 
they  add,  that  to  justify  this  abrogation  of  a  law,  it  must 
be  palpably  contrary  to  the  Constitution  ;  but  it  is  evident, 
that  to  give  the  right  of  resisting  laws  of  that  description, 
coupled  with  the  uncontrolled  right  to  decide  what  laws 
deserve  that  character,  is  to  give  the  power  of  resisting 
all  laws.  For,  as  by  the  theory,  there  is  no  appeal,  the 
reasons  alleged  by  the  state,  good  or  bad,  must  prevail. 
If  it  should  be  said  that  public  opinion  is  a  sufficient 
check  against  the  abuse  of  this  power,  it  may  be  asked 
why  it  is  not  deemed  a  sufficient  guard  against  the  pas 
sage  of  an  unconstitutional  act  by  Congress.  There  is, 
however,  a  restraint  in  this  last  case,  which  makes  the 
assumed  power  of  a  state  more  indefensible,  and  which 
does  not  exist  in  the  other.  There  are  two  appeals  from 
an  unconstitutional  act  passed  by  Congress — one  to  the 
judiciary,  the  other  to  the  people  and  the  states.  There 
is  no  appeal  from  the  state  decision  in  theory,  and  the 


266  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

practical  illustration  shows  that  the  courts  are  closed 
against  an  application  to  review  it,  both  judge  and  jurors 
being  sworn  to  decide  in  its  favor.  But  reasoning  on  this 
subject  is  superfluous,  when  our  social  compact  in  express 
terms  declares,  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  its 
Constitution  and  treaties  made  under  it,  are  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land — and  for  greater  caution  adds,  "that  the 
judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound  thereby,  any  thing 
in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  state  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding."  And  it  may  be  asserted  without  fear 
of  refutation,  that  no  federative  government  could  exist 
without  a  similar  provision.  Look  for  a  moment  to  the 
consequences.  If  South  Carolina  considers  the  revenue 
laws  unconstitutional,  and  has  a  right  to  prevent  their 
execution  in  the  port  of  Charleston,  there  would  be  a 
clear  constitutional  objection  to  their  collection  in  every 
other  port,  and  no  revenue  could  be  collected  anywhere  ; 
for  all  imposts  must  be  equal.  It  is  no  answer  to  repeat, 
that  an  unconstitutional  law  is  no  law,  so  long  as  the  ques 
tion  of  its  legality  is  to  be  decided  by  the  state  itself;  for 
every  law  operating  injuriously  upon  any  local  interest, 
will  be  perhaps  thought,  and  certainly  represented,  as  un 
constitutional,  and,  as  has  been  shown,  there  is  no  appeal. 
If  this  doctrine  had  been  established  at  an  earlier  day, 
the  Union  would  have  been  dissolved  in  its  infancy.  The 
excise  law  in  Pennsylvania,  the  embargo  and  non-inter 
course  law  in  the  Eastern  States,  the  carriage  tax  in  Vir 
ginia,  were  all  deemed  unconstitutional,  and  were  more 
unequal  in  their  operation  than  any  of  the  laws  now  com 
plained  of;  but  fortunately  none  of  those  states  discovered 
that  they  had  the  right  now  claimed  by  South  Carolina. 
The  war  into  which  we  were  forced,  to  support  the  dig 
nity  of  the  nation  and  the  rights  of  our  citizens,  might 
have  ended  in  defeat  and  disgrace,  instead  of  victory  and 
honor,  if  the  states  who  supposed  it  a  ruinous  and  uncon 
stitutional  measure,  had  thought  they  possessed  the  right 
of  nullifying  the  act  by  which  it  was  declared,  and  deny 
ing  supplies  for  its  prosecution.  Hardly  and  unequally 
as  those  measures  bore  upon  several  members  of  the 
Union,  to  the  legislatures  of  none  did  this  efficient  apd 


PROCLAMATION.  267 

peaceable  remedy,  as  it  is  called,  suggest  itself.  The 
discovery  of  this  important  feature  in  our  Constitution 
was  reserved  for  the  present  day.  To  the  statesmen  of 
South  Carolina  belongs  the  invention,  and  upon  the  citi 
zens  of  that  state  will  unfortunately  fall  the  evil  of  reduc 
ing  it  to  practice. 

If  the  doctrine  of  a  state  veto  upon  the  laws  of  the  Union 
carries  with  it  internal  evidence  of  its  impracticable  ab 
surdity,  our  constitutional  history  will  also  afford  abundant 
proof  that  it  would  have  been  repudiated  with  indignation, 
had  it  been  proposed  to  form  a  feature  in  our  government. 

In  our  colonial  state,  although  dependent  on  another 
power,  we  very  early  considered  ourselves  as  connected 
by  common  interest  with  each  other.  Leagues  were 
formed  for  common  defence,  and  before  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  we  were  known  in  our  aggregate  cha 
racter  as  the  UNITED  COLONIES  OF  AMERICA.  That  decisive 
ind  important  step  was  taken  jointly.  We  declared  our 
selves  a  nation,  by  a  joint,  not  by  several  acts,  and  when 
the  terms  of  confederation  were  reduced  to  form,  it  was  in 
that  of  a  solemn  league  of  several  states  by  which  they 
agreed,  that  they  would  collectively  form  one  nation  for 
the  purpose  of  conducting  some  certain  domestic  concerns 
and  all  foreign  relations.  In  the  instrument  forming  that 
union  is  found  an  article  which  declares  that,  "  every 
state  shall  abide  by  the  determination  of  Congress  on  all 
questions  which  by  that  confederation  should  be  submitted 
to  them." 

Under  the  Confederation,  then,  no  state  could  legally 
annul  a  decision  of  the  Congress,  or  refuse  to  submit  to 
its  execution  ;  but  no  provision  was  made  to  enforce  these 
decisions.  Congress  made  requisitions,  but  they  were  not 
complied  with.  The  government  could  not  operate  on 
individuals.  They  had  no  judiciary,  no  means  of  collect 
ing  revenue. 

But  the  defects  of  the  Confederation  need  not  be  de 
tailed.  Under  its  operation  we  could  scarcely  be  called  a 
nation.  We  had  neither  prosperity  at  home,  nor  con 
sideration  abroad.  This  state  of  things  could  not  be  en 
dured,  and  our  present  happy  Constitution  was  formed, 
12* 


268  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

but  formed  in  vain  if  this  fatal  doctrine  prevails.  It  was 
formed  for  important  objects  that  are  announc- d  in  die 
preamble,  made  in  the  name  and  by  the  authon  »t  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  whose  delegates  fram.-.  and 
whose  conventions  approved  it.  The  most  important 
among-  these  objects,  that  which  is  placed  first  in  rank, 
on  which  all  others  rest,  is  "  TO  FORM  A  MORE  PERFECT 
UNION."  Now,  is  it  possible  that  even  if  there  were  no 
express  provisions  giv.hg  supremacy  to  the  Constitution 
and  Laws  of  the  United  States  over  those  of  the  states — 
can  it  be  conceived  that  an  instrument  made  for  the  pur 
pose  of  "FORMING  A  MORE  PERFECT  UNION"  thai!  that  of 

the  Confederation,  could  be  so  constructed  by  the  as 
sembled  wisdom  of  our  country  as  to  substitute  for  that 
confederation  a  form  of  government  dependent  for  its  ex 
istence  on  the  local  interest,  the  party  spirit  of  a  state,  or 
of  a  prevailing  faction  in  a  state  ?  Every  man  of  plain, 
unsophisticated  understanding,  who  hears  the  question, 
will  give  such  an  answer  as  will  preserve  the  Union. 
Metaphysical  subtlety,  in  pursuit  of  an  impracticable 
theory,  could  alone  have  devised  one  that  is  calculated  to 
destroy  it. 

I  consider  then  the  power  to  annul  a  law  of  the  United 
States,  assumed  by  one  state,  INCOMPATIBLE  WITH  THE 

EXISTENCE  OF  THE  UNION,  CONTRADICTED  EXPRESSLY  BY 
THE  LETTER  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION,  UNAUTHORIZED  BY  ITS 
SPIRIT,  INCONSISTENT  WITH  EVERY  PRINCIPLE  ON  WHICH  IT 
WAS  FOUNDED,  AND  DESTRUCTIVE  OF  THE  GREAT  OBJECT 
FOR  WHICH  IT  WAS  FORMED. 

After  this  general  view  of  the  leading  principle,  we 
must  examine  the  particular  application  of  it  which  is 
made  in  the  ordinance. 

The  preamble  rests  its  justification  on  these  grounds : 
It  assumes  as  a  fact,  that  the  obnoxious  laws,  although 
they  purport  to  be  laws  for  raising  revenue,  were  in  reality 
intended  for  the  protection  of  manufactures,  which  purpose 
it  asserts  to  be  unconstitutional ;  that  the  operation  of  these 
laws  is  unequal ;  that  the  amount  raised  by  them  is  greater 
than  is  required  by  the  wants  of  the  government :  and 
finally,  that  the  proceeds  are  to  be  applied  to  objects  un 


PROCLAMATION.  269 

authorized  by  the  Constitution.  These  are  the  only  causes 
alleged  to  justify  an  open  opposition  to  the  laws  of  the 
country,  and  a  threat  of  seceding  from  the  Union,  if  any 
attempt  should  be  made  to  enforce  them.  The  first  virtu 
ally  acknowledges,  that  the  law  in  question  was  passed 
un'der  a  power  expressly  given  by  the  Constitution,  to  lay 
and  collect  imposts :  but  its  constitutionality  is  drawn  in 
question  from  the  motives  of  those  who  passed  it.  How 
ever  apparent  this  purpose  rnay  be  in  the  present  case, 
nothing  can  be  more  dangerous  than  to  admit  the  position 
that  an  unconstitutional  purpose,  entertained  by  the  mem 
bers  who  assent  to  a  law  enacted  under  a  constitutional 
power,  shall  ma"ke  that  law  void ;  for  how  is  that  purpose 
to  be  ascertained  ?  Who  is  to  make  the  scrutiny  ?  How 
often  may  bad  purposes  be  falsely  imputed — in  how  many 
cases  are  they  concealed  by  false  professions — in  how 
many  is  no  declaration  of  motives  made  ?  Admit  this 
doctrine,  and  you  give  to  the  states  an  uncontrolled  right 
to  decide,  and  every  law  may  be  annulled  under  this  pre 
text.  If,  therefore,  the  absurd  and  dangerous  doctrine 
should  be  admitted,  that  a  state  may  annul  an  unconstitu 
tional  law,  or  one  that  it  deems  such,  it  will  not  apply  to 
the  present  case. 

The  next  objection  is,  that  the  laws  in  question  operate 
unequally.  This  objection  may  be  made  with  truth,  to 
every  law  that  has  been  or  can  be  passed.  The  wisdom 
of  man  never  yet  contrived  a  system  of  taxation  that 
would  operate  with  perfect  equality.  If  the  unequal  ope 
ration  of  a  law  makes  it  unconstilttitional,  and  if  all  laws 
of  that  description  may  be  abrogated  by  any  state  for  that 
cause,  then  indeed  is  the  Federal  Constitution  unworthy 
of  the  slightest  effort  for  its  preservation.  We  have 
hitherto  relied  on  it  as  the  perpetual  bond  of  our  union. 
We  have  received  it  as  the  work  of  the  assembled  wisdom 
of  the  nation.  We  have  trusted  to  it  as  to  the  sheet 
anchor  of  our  safety  in  the  stormy  times  of  conflict  with 
a  foreign  or  domestic  foe.  We  have  looked  to  it  with 
sacred  awe  as  the  palladium  of  our  liberties,  and  with  all 
the  solemnities  of  religion  have  pledged  to  each  other  our 
lives  and  fortunes  here,  and  our  hopes  of  happiness  here 


270  LIFE,  OF    JACKSON. 

after,  in  its  defence  and  support.     Were  we  mistaken, 
my  countrymen,  in  attaching-  this  importance  to  the  Con 
stitution  of  our  country  ?     Was  our  devotion  paid  to  the 
wretched,  inefficient,  clumsy  contrivance  which  this  new 
doctrine  would  make  it  ?     Did  we  pledge  ourselves  to  the 
support  of  an  airy  nothing,  a  bubble  that  must  be  blown 
away  by  the  first  breath  of  disaffection?     Was  this  self- 
destroying,  visionary  theory,  the   work  of  the  profound 
statesmen,  the  exalted  patriots,  to  whom  the  task  of  con 
stitutional  reform  was  intrusted  ?    Did  the  name  of  Wash 
ington  sanction,  did  the  states  ratify,  such  an  anomaly  in 
the  history  of  fundamental  legislation?     No.     We  were 
not  mistaken.     The  letter  of  this  great  instrument  is  free 
from  this  radical  fault :  its  language  directly  contradicts 
the  imputation:  its  spirit — its  evident  intent,  contradicts 
it.     No  ;  we  do  not  err  !     Our  Constitution  does  not  con 
tain   the   absurdity   of  giving   power  to  make  laws,  and 
another  power  to  resist  them.     The  sages  whose  memory 
will  always  be  reverenced,  have  given  us  a  practical,  and, 
as  they  hoped,  a  permanent  constitutional  compact.    The 
father  of  his  country  did  not  affix  his  revered  name  to  so 
palpable  an  absurdity.     Nor  did  the  states,  when  they 
severally  ratified  it,  do  so  under  the  impression  that  a  veto 
on  the  laws  of  the  United  States  was  reserved  to  them,  or 
that  they  could  exercise  it  by  implication.     Search   the 
debates  in  all  their  conventions — examine  the  speeches 
of  the  most  zealous  opposers  of  federal  authority — look  at 
the  amendments  that  were  proposed — they  are  all  silent 
— not  a  syllable  uttered,  not  a  vote  given,  not  a  motion 
made,  to  correct  the  explicit  supremacy  given  to  the  laws 
of  the  Union   over  those  of  the  states — or  to  show  that 
implication,  as  is  now  contended,  could  defeat  it.     No; 
we  have  not  erred  !     The  Constitution  is  still  the  object 
of  our  reverence,  the  bond  of  our  union,  our  defence  in 
danger,  the  source  of  our  prosperity  in  peace.     It  shall 
descend,  as  we  have  received  it,  uncorrupted  by  sophis 
tical  construction,  to  our  posterity  ;  and  the  sacrifices  of 
local  interest,  of  state  prejudices,  of  personal  animosities, 
that  were  made  to  bring  it  into  existence,  will  again  be 
patriotically  offered  for  its  support. 


PROCLAMATION.  27 1 

The  two  remaining  objections  made  by  the  ordinaii 
to  these  laws  are,  that  the  sums  intended  to  be  raised  b) 
them  are  greater  than  required,  and  that  the  proceeds  wiL 
be  unconstitutionally  employed. 

The  Constitution  has  given  expressly  to  Congress  the 
right  of  raising  revenue,  and  of  determining  the  sum  the 
public  exigencies  will  require.  The  states  have  no  con 
trol  over  the  exercise  of  this  right,  other  than  that  which 
results  from  the  power  of  changing  the  representatives 
who  abuse  it ;  and  thus  procure  redress.  Congress  may 
undoubtedly  abuse  this  discretionary  power,  but  the  same 
may  be  said  of  others  with  which  they  are  vested.  Yet 
the  discretion  must  exist  somewhere.  The  Constitution 
has  given  it  to  the  representatives  of  all  the  people, 
checked  by  the  representatives  of  the  states  and  by  the 
executive  power.  The  South  Carolina  construction  gives 
it  to  the  legislature,  or  the  convention  of  a  single  state, 
where  neither  the  people  of  the  different  states,  nor  the 
states  in  their  separate  capacity,  nor  the  chief  magistrate 
elected  by  the  people,  have  any  representation.  Which 
is  the  most  discreet  disposition  of  the  power  ?  I  do  not 
ask  you,  fellow-citizens,  which  is  the  constitutional  dis 
position — that  instrument  speaks  a  language  not  to  be 
misunderstood.  But  if  you  were  assembled  in  general 
convention,  which  would  you  think  the  safest  depository 
of  this  discretionary  power  in  the  last  resort  ?  Would  you 
add  a  clause  giving  it  to  each  of  the  states,  or  would  you 
sanction  the  wise  provisions  already  made  by  your  Con 
stitution  1  If  this  should  be  the  result  of  your  delibera 
tions  when  providing  for  the  future,  are  you,  can  you  be 
ready,  to  risk  all  that  we  hold  dear,  to  establish,  for  a 
temporary  and  a  local  purpose,  that  which  you  must  ac 
knowledge  to  be  destructive,  and  even  absurd,  as  a  general 
provision  ?  Carry  out  the  consequences  of  this  right  vested 
in  the  different  states,  arid  you  must  perceive  that  the  crisis 
your  conduct  presents  at  this  day  would  recur  whenevei 
any  law  of  the  United  States  displeased  any  of  the  states, 
and  that  we  should  soon  cease  to  be  a  nation. 

The  ordinance,  with  the  same  knowledge  of  the  future 
that  characterizes  a  former  objection,  tells  you  that  the 


272  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

proceeds  of  the  tax  will  be  unconstitutionally  applied. 
If  this  could  be  ascertained  with  certainty,  the  objection 
would,  with  more  propriety,  be  reserved  for  the  laws  so 
applying  the  proceeds,  but  surely  cannot  be  urged  against 
the  law  levying  the  duty. 

These  are  the  allegations  contained  in  the  ordinance. 
Examine  them  seriously,  my  fellow-citizens. — judge  for 
yourselves.  I  appeal  to  you  to  determine  whether  they 
are  so  clear,  so  convincing,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their 
correctness ;  and  even  if  you  should  come  to  this  conclu 
sion,  how  far  they  justify  the  reckless,  destructive  course 
which  you  are  directed  to  pursue.  Review  these  objec 
tions,  and  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them,  once  more. 
What  are  they  ?  Every  law,  then,  for  raising  revenue, 
according  to  the  South  Carolina  ordinance,  may  be  right 
fully  annulled,  unless  it  be  so  framed  as  no  law  ever  wiL 
or  can  be  framed.  Congress  have  a  right  to  pass  laws  for 
raising  revenue,  and  each  state  has  a  right  to  oppose  their 
execution — two  rights  directly  opposed  to  each  other — and 
yet  is  this  absurdity  supposed  to  be  contained  in  an  in 
strument  drawn  for  the  express  purpose  of  avoiding  colli 
sions  between  the  states  and  the  general  government,  by 
an  assembly  of  the  most  enlightened  statesmen  and  purest 
patriots  ever  imbodied  for  a  similar  purpose. 

In  vain  have  these  sages  declared  that  Congress  shall 
have  power  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and 
excises — in  vain  have  they  provided  that  they  shall  have 
power  to  pass  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
to  carry  those  powers  into  execution ;  that  those  laws  and 
that  Constitution  shall  be  the  "supreme  law  of  the  land, 
and  that  the  judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound  thereby, 
any  thing  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  state  to  the 
contrary,  notwithstanding."  In  vain  have  the  people  o 
the  several  states  solemnly  sanctioned  these  provisions 
made  them  their  paramount  law,  and  individually  sworn 
to  support  them  whenever  they  were  called  on  to  execute 
any  office.  Vain  provisions  !  ineffectual  restrictions  !  vile 
profanation  of  oaths  !  miserable  mockery  of  legislation  !  if 
a  bare  majority  of  the  voters  in  any  one  state  may,  on  a 
real  or  supposed  knowledge  of  the  intent  in  which  a 


PROCLAMATION.  273 

law  has  been  passed,  declare  themselves  free  from  its 
operations — say  here  it  gives  too  little,  there  too  much, 
ind  operates  unequally — here  it  suffers  articles  to  he  free 
that  ought  to  be  taxed — there  it  taxes  those  that  ought  to 
be  free — in  this  case  the  proceeds  are  intended  to  be  ap 
plied  to  purposes  which  we  do  not  approve — in  that,  the 
amount  raised  is  more  than  is  wanted.  Congress,  it  is 
true,  are  invested  by  the  Constitution  with  the  right  of 
deciding  these  questions  according  to  their  sound  discre 
tion  ;  Congress  is  composed  of  the  representatives  of  all 
the  states  and  of  all  the  people  of  all  the  states  ;  but,  WE, 
part  of  the  people  of  one  state,  to  whom  the  Constitution 
has  given  no  power  on  the  subject,  from  whom  it  has  ex 
pressly  taken  it  away — WE,  who  have  solemnly  agreed 
that  this  Constitution  shall  be  our  law — WE,  most  of  whom 
have  sworn  to  support  it — M^E  now  abrogate  this  law  and 
swear,  and  force  others  to  swear,  that  it  shall  not  be 
obeyed  !  And  we  do  this,  not  because  Congress  have  no 
right  to  pass  such  laws;  this  we  do  not  allege;  but  because 
they  have  passed  them  with  improper  views.  They  are 
unconstitutional  from  the  motives  of  those  who  passed 
them,  which  we  can  never  with  certainty  know — from 
their  unequal  operation,  although  it  is  impossible  from 
the  nature  of  things  that  they  should  be  equal — and  from 
the  disposition  which  we  presume  may  be  made  of  their 
proceeds,  although  that  disposition  has  not  been  declared. 
This  is  the  plain  meaning  of  the  ordinance  in  relation  to 
laws  which  it  abrogates  for  alleged  unconstitutionally. 
But  it  does  not  stop  there.  It  repeals,  in  express  terms, 
an  important  part  of  the  Constitution  itself,  and  of  laws 
passed  to  give  it  effect,  which  have  never  been  alleged  to 
be  unconstitutional.  The  Constitution  declares  that  the 
judicial  powers  of  the  United  States  extend  to  cases  aris 
ing  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  that  such 
laws,  the  Constitution  and  treaties,  shall  be  paramount  to 
the  state  constitutions  and  laws.  The  judiciary  act  pre 
scribes  the  mode  by -which  the  case  may  be  brought  be 
fore  a  court  of  the  United  States,  by  appeal,  when  a  state 
tribunal  shall  decide  against  this  provision  of  the  Consti 
tution.  The  ordinance  declares  there  shall  be  no  appeal 


274  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

— makes  the  slate  law  paramount  to  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  United  States — forces  judges  and  jurors  to 
swear  that  they  will  disregard  their  provisions  ;  and  even 
makes  it  penal  in  a  suitor  to  attempt  relief  by  appeal.  It 
further  declares  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  the  authori 
ties  of  the  United  States,  or  of  that  state,  to  enforce  the 
payment  of  duties  imposed  by  the  revenue  laws  within 
its  limits. 

Here  is  a  law  of  the  United  States  not  even  pretende 
to  be  unconstitutional,  repealed  by  the  authority  of  a  small 
majority  of  the  voters  of  a  single  state.     Here  is  a  pro 
vision  of  the  Constitution  which  is  solemnly  abrogated  by 
the  same  authority. 

On  such  expositions  and  reasonings  the  ordinance  grounds 
not  only  an  assertion  of  the  right  to  annul  the  laws  of 
which  it  complains,  but  to  enforce  it  by  a  threat  of  seced 
ing  from  the  Union  if  any  attempt  is  made  to  execute 
them. 

This  right  to  secede  is  deduced  from  the  nature  of  the 
Constitution,  which  they  say  is  a  compact  between  sove 
reign  states,  who  have  preserved  their  whole  sovereignty, 
and,  therefore,  are  subject  to  no  superior  ;  that  because 
they  made  the  compact,  they  can  break  it,  when,  in  their 
opinion,  it  has  been  departed  from  by  the  other  states. 
Fallacious  as  this  course  of  reasoning  is,  it  enlists  state 
pride,  and  finds  advocates  in  the  honest  prejudices  of  those 
who  have  not  studied  the  nature  of  our  government  suffi 
ciently  to  see  the  radical  error  on  which  it  rests. 

The  people  of  the  United  Slates  formed  the  Constitu 
tion,  acting  Ihrough  ihe  state  legislatures  in  making  the 
compact,  to  meet  and  discuss  its  provisions,  and  acting  in 
separate  convenlions  when  ihey  ratified  those  provisions ; 
but  the  terms  used  in  its  construclion,  show  it  to  be  a 
government  in  which  the  people  of  all  the  stales  collec 
tively  are  represented.  We  are  one  people  in  the  choice 
of  a  President  and  Vice-President.  Here  the  states  have 
no  other  agency  than  to  direct  the  mode  »n  which  the 
votes  shall  be  given.  The  candidates  having  the  majority 
of  all  the  votes  are  chosen.  The  electors  or  a  majority 
of  the  states  may  have  given  their  votes  for  on«  candidate, 


PROCLAMATION. 

and  yet  another  may  be  chosen.  The  people,  then,  and 
not  the  states,  are  represented  in  the  executive  branch. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  there  is  this  difference, 
that  the  people  of  one  state  do  not,  as  in  the  case  of  Pre 
sident  and  Vice-President,  all  vote  for  the  same  officers. 
The  people  of  all  the  states  do  not  vote  for  all  the  mem 
bers,  each  state  electing  only  its  own  representatives.  But 
this  creates  no  material  distinction.  When  chosen,  they 
are  all  representatives  of  the  United  States,  not  repre 
sentatives  of  the  particular  state  from  which  they  come. 
They  are  paid  by  the  United  States,  not  by  the  "state  ;  nor 
are  they  accountable  to  it  for  any  act  done  in  the  per 
formance  of  their  legislative  functions  ;  and  however  they 
may,  in  practice,  as  it  is  their  duty  to  do,  consult  and  pre 
fer  the  interests  of  their  particular  constituents  when  they 
come  in  conflict  with  any  other  partial  or  local  interest, 
yet  it  is  their  first  and  highest  duty,  as  Representatives  of 
the  United  States,  to  promote  the  general  good. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  then  forms  a 
government,  not  a  league,  and  whether  it  be  formed  by 
compact  between  the  states,  or  in  any  other  manner,  its 
character  is  the  same.  It  is  a  government  in  which  all 
the  people  are  represented,  which  operates  directly  on  the 
people  individually,  not  upon  the  state — they  retained  all 
the  power  they  did  not  grant.  But  each  state  having 
expressly  parted  with  so  many  powers,  as  to  constitute 
jointly  with  the  other  states  a  single  nation,  cannot  from 
that  period  possess  any  right  to  secede,  because  such 
secession  does  not  break  a  league,  but  destroys  the  unity 
of  a  nation,  and  any  injury  to  that  unity  is  not  only  a 
breach  which  would  result  from  the  contravention  of  a 
compact,  but  it  is  an  offence  against  the  whole  Union. 
To  say  that  any  state  may  at  pleasure  secede  from  the 
Union,  is  to  say  that  the  United  States  are  not  a  nation, 
because  it  would  be  a  solecism  to  contend  that  any  part  of 
a  nation  might  dissolve  its  connection  with  the  other  parts, 
to  their  injury  or  ruin,  without  committing  any  offence. 
Secession,  like  any  other  revolutionary  act,  may  be  mo 
rally  justified  by  the  extremity  of  oppression  ;  but  to  call 
it  a  constitutional  right,  is  confounding  the  meaning  oi 


2*7(3  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

terms,  and  can  only  be  done  th':ough  gross  error,  or  to 
deceive  those  who  are  willing  to  assert  a  right,  but  would 
pause  before  they  made  a  revolution,  or  incur  the  penal 
ties  consequent  on  a  failure. 

Because  the  Union  was  formed  by  compact,  it  is  said 
the  parties  to  that  compact  may,  when  they  feel  themselves 
aggrieved,  depart  from  it,  but  it  is  precisely  because  it  is 
a  compact  that  they  cannot.  A  compact  is  an  agreement 
or  binding  obligation.  It  may  by  its  terms  have  a  sanction 
or  penalty  for  its  breach,  or  it  may  not.  If  it  contains  no 
sanction,  it  may  be  broken  with  no  other  consequence  than 
moral  guilt ;  if  it  have  a  sanction,  then  the  breach  incurs 
the  designated  or  implied  penalty.  A  league  between 
independent  nations,  generally,  has  no  sanction  other  than 
a  moral  one  ;  or  if  it  should  contain  a  penalty,  as  there  is 
no  common  superior,  it  cannot  be  enforced.  A  govern 
ment,  on  the  contrary,  always  has  a  sanction  express  or 
implied,  and  in  our  case,  it  is  both  necessarily  implied 
and  expressly  given.  An  attempt  by  force  of  arms  to 
destroy  a  government,  is  an  offence,  by  whatever  means 
the  constitutional  compact  may  have  been  formed ;  and 
such  government  has  the  right,  by  the  law  of  self-defence, 
to  pass  acts  for  punishing  the  offender,  unless  that  right 
is  modified,  restrained,  or  resumed  by  the  constitutional 
act.  In  our  system,  although  it  is  modified  in  the  case  of 
treason,  yet  authority  is  expressly  given  to  pass  all  laws 
necessary  to  carry  its  powers  into  effect,  and  under  this 
grant,  provision  has  been  made  for  punishing  acts  which 
obstruct  the  due  administration  of  the  laws. 

It  would  seem  superfluous  to  add  any  thing  to  show  the 
nature  of  that  union  which  connects  us ;  but  as  erroneous 
opinions  on  this  subject  are  the  foundation  of  doctrines  the 
most  destructive  to  our  peace,  I  must  give  some  further 
development  to  my  views  on  this  subject.  No  one,  felioxv- 
citizens,  has  a  higher  reverence  for  the  reserved  rights  of 
the  states  than  the  magistrate  who  now  addresses  you. 
No  one  would  make  greater  personal  sacrifices,  or  official 
exertions,  to  defend  them  from  violation,  but  equal  carj 
must  be  taken  to  prevent  on  their  part  an  improper  inter 
ference  with,  or  resumption  of  the  rights  they  have  vested 


PROCLAMATION. 


277 


in  the  nation.  The  line  has  not  been  so  distinctly  drawn 
as  to  avoid  doubts  in  some  cases  of  the  exercise  of  power. 
Men  of  the  best  intentions  and  soundest  views  may  differ 
in  the  construction  of  some  parts  of  the  Constitution  ;  but 
there  are  others  on  which  dispassionate  reflection  can  leave 
no  doubt.  Of  this  nature  appears  to  be  the  assumed  right 
of  secession.  It  rests,  as  we  have  seen,  on  the  alleged 
undivided  sovereignty  of  the  states,  and  on  their  having 
formed  in  this  sovereign  capacity  a  compact  which  is  called 
the  Constitution,  from  which,  because  they  made  it,  they 
have  the  right  to  secede.  Both  of  these  positions  are  erro 
neous,  and  some  of  the  arguments  to  prove  them  so  have 
been  anticipated. 

The  states  severally  have  not  retained  their  entire  sove 
reignty.  It  has  been  shown  that  in  becoming  parts  of  a 
nation,  not  members  of  a  league,  they  surrendered  many 
of  their  essential  parts  of  sovereignty.  The  right  to  make 
treaties,  declare  war,  levy  taxes,  exercise  exclusive  judicial 
and  legislative  powers,  were  all  of  them  functions  of  sove 
reign  power.  The  states,  then,  for  all  these  important 
purposes,  were  no  longer  sovereign.  The  allegiance  with 
their  citizens  was  transferred  in  the  first  instance  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States ;  they  became  American 
citizens,  and  owed  obedience  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  laws  made  in  conformity  with  powers 
it  vested  in  Congress.  This  last  position  has  not  been, 
and  cannot  be  denied.  How  then  can  that  state  be  said 
to  be  sovereign  and  independent  whose  citizens  owe  obe 
dience  to  laws  not  made  by  it,  and  whose  magistrates  are 
sworn  to  disregard  those  laws,  when  they  come  in  conflict 
with  those  passed  by  another  ?  What  shows  conclusively 
that  the  states  cannot  be  said  to  have  reserved  an  undivided 
sovereignty,  is  that  they  expressly  ceded  the  right  to 
punish  treason,  not  treason  against  their  separate  power, 
but  treason  against  the  United  States.  Treason  is  an 
offence  against  SOVEREIGNTY,  and  sovereignty  must  reside 
with  the  power  to  punish  it.  But  the  reserved  rights  of 
the  states  are  not  the  less  sacred  because  they  have  for 
the  common  interest  made  the  general  government  the 
depository  of  these  powers.  The  unity  of  our  political 


278  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

character  (as  has  been  shown  for  another  purpose)  com 
menced  with  its  very  existence.  Under  the  royal  govern 
ment,  we  had  no  separate  character ;  our  opposition  to  its 
oppressions  began  as  UNITED  COLONIES.  VVe  were  the 
UNITED  STATES  under  the  Confederation,  and  the  name 
was  perpetuated  and  the  Union  rendered  more  perfect  by 
the  Federal  Constitution.  In  none  of  these  stages  did 
we  consider  ourselves  in  any  other  light  than  as  forming 
one  nation.  Treaties  and  alliances  were  made  in  the 
name  of  all.  Troops  were  raised  for  the  joint  defence. 
How,  then,  with  all  these  proofs,  that  under  all  changes 
of  our  position  we  had,  for  designated  purposes,  and  with 
defined  powers,  created  national  governments  ;  how  is  it 
that  the  most  perfect  of  those  several  modes  of  union 
should  now  be  considered  as  a  mere  league  that  may  be 
dissolved  at  pleasure  ?  It  is  from  an  abuse  of  terms. 
Compact  is  used  as  synonymous  with,  league,  although  the 
true  term  is  not  employed,  because  it  would  at  once  show 
the  fallacy  of  the  reasoning.  It  would  not  do  to  say  that 
our  Constitution  was  only  a  league,  but,  it  is  labored  to 
prove  it  a  compact,  (which  in  one  sense  it  is,)  and  then  to 
argue  that  as  a  league  is  a  compact,  every  compact  be 
tween  nations  must  of  course  be  a  league,  and  that  from 
such  an  engagement  every  sovereign  power  has  a  right 
to  recede.  But  it  has  been  shown,  that  in  this  sense  the 
states  are  not  sovereign,  and  that  even  if  they  were,  and 
the  National  Constitution  had  been  formed  by  compact, 
there  would  be  no  right  in  any  one  state  to  exonerate  itself 
from  its  obligations. 

So  obvious  are  the  reasons  which  forbid  this  secession, 
that  it  is  necessary  only  to  allude  to  them.  The  Union 
was  formed  for  the  benefit  of  all.  It  was  produced  by 
mutual  sacrifices  of  interests  and  opinion.  Can  those 
sacrifices  be  recalled  ?  Can  the  states,  who  magnani 
mously  surrendered  their  title  to  the  territories  of  the  west, 
recall  the  grant  ?  Will  the  inhabitants  of  the  inland  states 
agree  to  pay  the  duties  that  may  be  imposed  without  their 
assent  by  those  on  the  Atlantic  or  the  gulf,  for  their  own 
benefit  ?  Shall  there  be  a  free  port  in  one  state  and  one 
rous  duties  in  another  ?  No  one  believes  that  any  right 


PROCLAMATION.  279 

exists  in  a  single  state  to  involve  all  the  others  in  these 
and  countless  other  evils,  contrary  to  engagements  solemn 
ly  made.  Every  one  must  see  that  the  other  states,  in 
self-defence,  must  oppose  it  at  all  hazards. 

These  are  the  alternatives  that  are  presented  by  the 
Convention  ;  a  repeal  of  all  the  acts  for  raising  revenue, 
leaving  the  government  without  the  means  of  support ;  or 
an  acquiescence  in  the  dissolution  of  our  Union  by  the 
secession  of  one  of  its  members.  When  the  first  was 
proposed,  it  was  known  that  it  could  not  be  listened  to  for 
a  moment.  It  was  known  if  force  was  applied  to  oppose 
the  execution  of  the  laws,  that  it  must  be  repelled  by  force 
—that  Congress  could  not,  without  involving  itself  in  dis 
grace  and  the  country  in  ruin,  accede  to  the  proposition ; 
and  yet  if  this  is  done  on  a  given  day,  or  if  any  attempt 
is  made  to  execute  the  laws,  the  state  is,  by  the  ordinance, 
declared  to  be  out  of  the  Union. 

The  majority  of  a  Convention  assembled  for  the  purpose, 
have  dictated  these  terms,  or  rather  its  rejection  of  all  terms, 
in  the  name  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina.  It  is  true  that 
the  Governor  of  the  state  speaks  of  submission  of  their 
grievances  to  a  Convention  of  all  the  states  ;  which  he  says 
they  "  sincerely  and  anxiously  seek  and  desire."  Yet  this 
obvious  and  constitutional  mode  of  obtaining  the  sense  of 
the  other  states  on  the  construction  of  the  federal  compact, 
and  amending  it,  if  necessary,  has  never  been  attempted 
by  those  who  have  urged  the  state  on  to  this  destructive 
measure.  The  state  might  have  proposed  the  call  for  a 
general  Convention  to  the  other  states  ;  and  Congress,  if  a 
sufficient  number  of  them  concurred,  must  have  called  it. 

But  the  first  magistrate  of  South  Carolina,  when  he  ex 
pressed  a  hope  that,  "  on  a  review  by  Congress  and  the 
"unctionaries  of  the  general  government  of  the  merits  of 
the  controversy,"  suc'h  a  Convention  will  be  accorded  to 
them,  must  have  known  that  neither  Congress  nor  any 
functionary  of  the  general  government  has  authority  to  call 
such  a  Convention,  unless  it  be  demanded  by  two-thirds 
of  the  states.  This  suggestion,  then,  is  another  instance 
of  a  reckless  inattention  to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitu 
tion  with  which  this  crisis  has  been  madly  hurried  on;  or 


280  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  the  attempt  to  persuade  the  people  that  a  constitutional 
remedy  had  been  sought  and  refused.  If  the  legislature 
of  South  Carolina  "anxiously  desire"  a  general  Conven 
tion  to  consider  their  complaints,  why  have  they  not  made 
application  for  it  in  the  way  the  Constitution  points  out  ? 
The  assertion  that  they  "  earnestly  seek  it"  is  completely 
negatived  by  the  omission. 

This,  then,  is  the  position  in  which  we  stand.  A  small 
majority  of  the  citizens  of  one  state  in  the  Union  have 
elected  delegates  to  a  State  Convention  ;  that  Convention 
has  ordained  that  all  the  revenue  laws  of  the  United  States 
must  be  repealed,  or  that  they  are  no  longer  a  member  of 
the  Union.  The  Governor  of  that  state  has  recommended 
to  the  legislature  the  raising  of  an  army  to  carry  the  seces 
sion  into  effect,  and  that  he  may  be  empowered  to  give 
clearances  to  vessels  in  the  name  of  the  state.  No  act  of 
violent  opposition  to  the  laws  has  yet  been  committed,  but 
such  a  state  of  things  is  hourly  apprehended,  and  it  is  the 
intent  of  this  instrument  to  PROCLAIM  not  only  the  duty 
imposed  on  me  by  the  Constitution  "  to  take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed,"  shall  be  performed  to  the 
extent  of  the  powers  already  vested  in  me  by  law,  or  of 
such  others  as  the  wisdom  of  Congress  shall  devise  and 
intrust  to  me  for  that  purpose  ;  but  to  warn  the  citizens 
of  South  Carolina,  who  have  been  deluded  into  an  oppo 
sition  to  the  laws,  of  the  danger  they  will  incur  by  obe 
dience  to  the  illegal  and  disorganizing  ordinance  of  the 
Convention — to  exhort  those  who  have  refused  to  support 
it,  to  persevere  in  their  determination  to  uphold  the  Con 
stitution  and  laws  of  their  country — and  to  point  out  to  all, 
the  perilous  situation  into  which  the  good  people  of  that 
state  have  been  led — and  that  the  course  they  are  urged 
to  pursue  is  one  of  ruin  and  disgrace  to  the  very  state 
whose  rights  they  affect  to  support. 

Fellow-citizens  of  my  native  state! — let  me  not  only 
admonish  you,  as  the  first  Magistrate  of  our  common  coun 
try,  not  to  incur  the  penalty  of  its  laws,  but  use  the  in 
fluence  that  a  father  would  over  his  children,  whom  he 
saw  rushing  to  certain  ruin.  In  that  paternal  language, 
with  that  paternal  feeling,  let  me  tell  you,rny  countrymen, 


PROCLAMATION.  281 

that  you  are  deluded  by  men  who  are  either  deceived 
themselves,  or  wish  to  deceive  you.  Mark  under  what 
pretences  you  have  been  led  on  to  the  brink  of  insurrec 
tion  and  treason,  on  which  you  stand  !  First,  a  diminu 
tion  of  the  value  of  your  staple  commodity  lowered  by 
over  production  in  other  quarters,  and  the  consequent  dimi 
nution  in  the  value  of  your  lands,  were  the  sole  effect  of 
the  tariff  laws.  The  effect  of  those  laws  was  confessedly 
injurious,  but  the  evil  was  greatly  exaggerated  by  the 
unfounded  theory  you  were  taught  to  believe,  that  its 
burdens  were  in  proportion  to  your  exports,  not  to  your 
consumption  of  imported  articles.  Your  pride  was  roused 
by  the  assertion  that  a  submission  to  those  laws  was  a 
state  of  vassalage,  and  that  resistance  to  them  was  equal, 
in  patriotic  merit,  to  the  opposition  our  fathers  offered  to 
the  oppressive  laws  of  Great  Britain.  You  were  told 
that  this  opposition  might  be  peaceably — might  be  consti 
tutionally  made — that  you  might  enjoy  all  the  advantages 
of  the  Union  and  bear  none  of  its  burdens.  Eloquent 
appeals  to  your  passions,  to  your  state  pride,  to  your  na 
tive  courage,  to  your  sense  of  real  injury,  were  used  to 
prepare  you  for  the  period  when  the  mask  which  con 
cealed  the  hideous  features  of  DISUNION  should  be  taken 
off.  It  fell,  and  you  were  made  to  look  with  complacency 
on  objects  which  not  long  since  you  would  have  regarded 
with  horror.  Look  back  at  the  arts  which  have  brought 
you  to  this  stale ;  look  forward  to  the  consequences  to 
which  it  must  inevitably  lead  !  Look  back  to  what  was 
first  told  you  as  an  inducement  to  enter  into  this  dangerous 
course.  The  great  political  truth  was  repeated  to  you, 
that  you  had  the  revolutionary  right  of  resisting  all  laws 
that  were  palpably  unconstitutional  and  intolerably  op 
pressive — it  was  added  that  the  right  to  nullify  a  law  rested 
on  the  same  principle,  but  that  it  was  a  peaceable  remedy! 
This  character  which  was  given  to  it,  made  you  receive 
with  too  much  confidence  the  assertions  that  were  made 
of  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  law  and  its  oppressive 
effects. 

Mark,  my  fellow-citizens,  that  by  the  admission  of  your 
leaders,  the  unconstitutionality  must  be  palpable,  or  it  will 


282  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

not  justify  either  resistance  or  nullification !  What  is  the 
meaning  of  the  word  palpable  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is 
here  used  ? — that  which  is  apparent  to  every  one,  that 
which  no  man  of  ordinary  intellect  will  fail  to  perceive. 
Is  the  unconstitutionality  of  these  laws  of  that  descrip 
tion  ?  Let  those  among  your  leaders  who  once  approved 
and  advocated  the  principle  of  protective  duties  answer 
the  question ;  and  let  them  choose  whether  they  will  be 
considered  as  incapable,  then,  of  perceiving  that  which 
must  have  been  apparent  to  every  man  of  common  under 
standing,  or  as  imposing  upon  your  confidence  and  en 
deavoring  to  mislead  you  now.  In  either  case  they  are 
unsafe  guides  in  the  perilous  paths  they  urge  you  to 
tread.  Ponder  well  on  this  circumstance,  and  you  will 
know  how  to  appreciate  the  exaggerated  language  they 
addressed  to  you.  They  are  not  champions  of  liberty, 
emulating  the  fame  of  our  Revolutionary  Fathers,  nor  are 
you  an  oppressed  people,  contending,  as  they  repeat  to 
you,  against  worse  than  colonial  vassalage.  You  are  free 
members  of  a  flourishing  and  happy  Union.  There  is  no 
settled  design  to  oppress  you.  You  have  indeed  felt  the 
unequal  operations  of  laws  which  may  have  been  un 
wisely,  not  unconstitutionally  passed  ;  but  that  inequality 
must  necessarily  be  removed. 

At  the  very  moment  when  you  were  madly  urged  on 
to  'the  unfortunate  course  you  have  begun,  a  change  in 
public  opinion  had  commenced.  The  nearly  approach 
ing  payment  of  the  public  debt,  and  the  consequent  ne 
cessity  of  a  diminution  of  duties,  had  already  produced  a 
considerable  reduction,  and  that  too  on  some  articles  of 
general  consumption  in  your  state.  The  importance  of 
this  change  was  understood,  and  you  were  authoritatively 
told  that  no  further  alleviation  of  your  burdens  was  to  be 
expected  at  the  very  time  when  the  condition  of  the  coun 
try  imperiously  demanded  such  a  modification  of  the  duties 
as  should  reduce  them  to  a  just  and  equitable  scale.  But, 
as  if  apprehensive  of  the  effect  of  this  change  in  allaying 
your  discontents,  you  were  precipitated  into  the  fearful 
state  in  which  you  now  find  yourselves. 

I  have  urged  you  to  look  back  to  the  means  that  were 


PROCLAMATION.  283 

used  to  hurry  you  on  to  the  position  you  have  now  as 
sumed,  and  forward  to  the  consequences  it  will  produce. 
Something  more  is  necessary.  Contemplate  the  condi 
tion  of  that  country  of  which  you  still  form  an  important 
part !  consider  its  government  uniting  in  one  bond  of 
common  interest  and  general  protection  so  many  different 
states — giving  to  all  their  inhabitants  the  proud  title  of 
American  citizens — protecting  their  commerce — securing 
heir  literature  and  their  arts — facilitating  their  intercom 
munication — defending  the  frontiers — and  making  their 
names  respected  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth !  Con 
sider  the  extent  of  its  territory,  its  increasing  and  happy 
population,  its  advance  in  arts  which  render  life  agree 
able,  and  the  sciences  which  elevate  the  mind :  see  edu 
cation  spreading  the  lights  of  religion,  humanity,  and 
general  information  into  every  cottage  in  this  wide  extent 
of  our  territories  and  states  !  Behold  it  as  the  asylum 
where  the  wretched  and  the  oppressed  find  a  refuge  and 
support!  Look  on  this  picture  of  happiness  and  honor, 
and  say,  WE,  TOO,  ARE  CITIZENS  OF  AMERICA  !  Carolina 
is  one  of  these  proud  states ;  her  arms  have  defended, 
her  best  blood  has  cemented  this  happy  Union  !  And 
then  add,  if  you  can,  without  horror  and  remorse,  this 
happy  Union  we  will  dissolve — this  picture  of  peace 
and  prosperity  we  will  deface — this  free  intercourse  we 
will  interrupt — these  fertile  fields  we  will  deluge  with 
blood — the  protection  of  that  glorious  flag  we  will  re 
nounce — the  very  name  of  Americans  we  discard.  And 
for  what,  mistaken  men  !  for  what  do  you  throw  away 
these  inestimable  blessings — for  what  would  you  exchange 
your  share  in  the  advantage  and  honor  of  the  Union  ? 
For  the  dream  of  a  separate  independence — a  dream  in 
terrupted  by  bloody  conflicts  with  your  neighbors,  and  a 
vile  dependence  on  a  foreign  power.  If  your  leaders 
could  succeed  in  establishing  a  separation,  what  would 
be  your  situation  ?  Are  you  united  at  home — are  you 
free  from  the  apprehension  of  civil  discord,  with  all  its 
fearful  consequences  ?  Do  our  neighboring  republics, 
every  day  suffering  some  new  revolution  or  contending 
with  some  new  insurrection— do  they  excite  your  envy  ? 
13 


284  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

But  the  dictates  of  a  high  duty  oblige  me  solemnly  to 
announce  that  you  cannot  succeed. 

The  laws  of  the  United  States  must  be  executed.  ] 
have  no  discretionary  power  on  the  subject ;  my  duty  if. 
emphatically  pronounced  in  the  Constitution.  Those  who 
told  you  that  you  might  peaceably  prevent  their  execu 
tion,  deceived  you — they  could  not  have  been  deceivec 
themselves.  They  know  that  a  forcible  opposition  coulc 
alone  prevent  the  execution  of  the  laws,  and  they  know 
that  such  opposition  must  be  repelled.  Their  object  is  dis 
union  :  but  be  not  deceived  by  names ;  disunion,  by  armed 
force,  is  TREASON.  Are  you  really  ready  to  incur  its 
guilt  ?  If  you  are,  on  the  heads  of  the  instigators  of  the 
act  be  the  dreadful  consequences — on  their  heads  be  the 
dishonor,  but  on  yours  may  fall  the  punishment — on  your 
unhappy  state  will  inevitably  fall  all  the  evils  of  the  con 
flict  you  force  upon  the  government  of  your  country.  It 
cannot  accede  to  the  mad  project  of  disunion,  of  which 
you  would  be  the  first  victims — its  first  magistrate  cannot, 
if  he  would,  avoid  the  performance  of  his  duty — the  con 
sequence  must  be  fearful  for  you,  distressing  to  your  fel 
low-citizens  here,  and  to  the  friends  of  good  government 
throughout  the  world.  Its  enemies  have  beheld  our  pros 
perity  with  a  vexation  they  could  not  conceal — it  was  a 
standing  refutation  of  their  slavish  doctrines,  and  they 
will  point  to  our  discord  with  the  triumph  of  malignant 
joy.  It  is  yet  in  your  power  to  disappoint  them.  There 
is  yet  time  to  show  that  the  descendants  of  the  Pinckneys, 
the  Sumpters,  the  Rutledges,  and  of  the  thousand  other 
names  which  adorn  the  pages  of  your  Revolutionary 
history,  will  not  abandon  that  Union,  to  support  which,  so 
many  of  them  fought,  and  bled,  and  died.  I  adjure  you, 
as  you  honor  their  memory — as  you  love  the  cause  of 
freedom,  to  which  they  dedicated  their  lives — as  you 
prize  the  peace  of  your  country,  the  lives  of  its  best  cit 
izens,  and  your  own  fair  fame,  to  retrace  your  steps. 
Snatch  from  the  archives  of  your  state  the  disorganizing 
edict  of  its  convention — bid  its  members  to  re-assemble 
and  promulgate  the  decided  expressions  of  your  will  to 
remain  in  the  path  which  alone  can  conduct  you  to  safety, 


PROCLAMATION.  385 

prosperity,  and  honor — tell  them  that,  compared  to  dis 
union,  all  other  evils  are  light,  because  that  brings  with 
it  an  accumulation  of  all — declare  that  you  will  never  take 
the  field  unless  the  star-spangled  banner  of  your  country 
shall  float  over  you — that  you  will  not  be  stigmatized 
when  dead,  and  dishonored  and  scorned  while  you  live, 
as  the  authors  of  the  first  attack  on  the  Constitution  of 
your  country  ! — Its  destroyers  you  cannot  be.  You  may 
disturb  its  peace — you  may  interrupt  the  course  of  its 
prosperity — you  may  cloud  its  reputation  for  stability — 
but  its  tranquillity  will  be  restored,  its  prosperity  will 
return,  and  the  stain  upon  its  national  character  will  be 
transferred,  and  remain  an  eternal  blot  on  the  memory  of 
those  who  caused  the  disorder. 

Fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States !  The  threat  of 
unhallowed  disunion — the  names  of  those,  once  respected, 
by  whom  it  was  uttered — the  array  of  military  force  to 
support  it — denote  the  approach  of  a  crisis  in  our  affairs, 
on  which  the  continuance  of  our  unexampled  prosperity, 
our  political  existence,  and  perhaps  that  of  all  free  gov 
ernments,  may  depend.  The  conjuncture  demanded  a 
free,  a  full  and  explicit  enunciation,  not  only  of  my  inten 
tions,  but  of  my  principles  of  action  ;  and  as  the  claim  was 
asserted  of  a  right  by  a  state  to  annul  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  and  even  to  secede  from  it  at  pleasure,  a  frank 
exposition  of  my  opinions  in  relation  to  the  origin  and 
form  of  our  government,  and  the  construction  I  give  to  the 
instrument  by  which  it  was  created,  seemed  to  be  proper. 
Having  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  justness  of  the  legal 
and  constitutional  opinion  of  my  duties,  which  has  been 
expressed,  I  rely  with  equal  confidence  on  your  undivided 
support  in  my  determination  to  execute  the  laws — to  pre 
serve  the  Union  by  all  constitutional  means — to  arrest,  if 
possible,  by  moderate  but  firm  measures,  the  necessity  of 
a  recourse  to  force ;  and  if  it  be  the  will  of  Heaven  that 
the  recurrence  of  its  primeval  curse  on  man  for  the  shed 
ding  of  a  brother's  blood  should  fall  upon  our  land,  that  it 
be  not  called  down  by  any  offensive  act  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States. 

Fellow-citizens !    The  momentous  case  is  before  you. 


286  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

On  your  undivided  support  of  your  government  depends 
the  decision  of  the  great  question  it  involves,  whether 
your  sacred  Union  will  be  preserved,  and  the  blessing  t 
secures  to  us  as  one  people  shall  be  perpetuated.  No 
one  can  doubt  that  the  unanimity  with  which  that  decisioi 
will  be  expressed,  will  be  such  as  to  inspire  new  cor- 
fidence  in  republican  institutions,  and  that  the  prudence, 
the  wisdom,  and  the  courage  which  it  will  bring  to  the  r 
defence,  will  transmit  them  unimpaired  and  invigorated 
to  our  children. 

May  the  Great  Ruler  of  nations  grant  that  the  signal 
blessings  with  which  He  has  favored  ours,  may  not,  by 
the  madness  of  party  or  personal  ambition,  be  disregarded 
and  lost ;  and  may  His  wise  Providence  bring  those  who 
have  produced  this  crisis,  to  see  the  folly,  before  they  fed 
the  misery  of  civil  strife  ;  and  inspire  a  returning  veiieri- 
tion  for  that  Union,  which,  if  we  may  dare  to  penetrate 
His  designs,  he  has  chosen  as  the  only  means  of  attaining 
the  high  destinies  to  which  we  may  reasonably  aspire. 


PROTEST.  287 


Extracts  from  President  Jackson's  Protest  against  the  Action  of  the 
United  States  Senate.— April  15,  1834. 

REASONS  FOR  THE  PROTEST. 

IT  appears  by  the  published  journal  of  the  Senate,  that 
on  the  26th  of  December  last,  a  resolution  was  offered  by 
a  member  of  the  Senate,  which,  after  a  protracted  debate, 
was  on  the  28th  day  of  March  last  modified  by  the  mover, 
and  passed  by  the  votes  of  twenty-six  senators  out  of  forty- 
six,  who  were  present  and  voted,  in  the  following  words, 
viz. : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President,  in  the  late  executive 
proceeding  in  relation  to  the  public  revenue,  has  assumed 
upon  himself  authority  and  power  not  conferred  by  the 
Constitution  and  laws,  but  in  derogation  of  both." 

Having  had  the  honor,  through  the  voluntary  suffrages 
of  the  American  people,  to  fill  the  office  of  President  of 
the  United  States,  during  the  period  which  may  be  pre 
sumed  to  have  been  referred  to  in  this  resolution,  it  is 
sufficiently  evident,  that  the  censure  it  inflicts  was  intended 
for  myself.  Without  notice,  unheard  and  untried,  I  thus 
find  myself  charged  on  the  records  of  the  Senate,  and  in 
a  form  hitherto  unknown  in  our  history,  with  the  high 
crime  of  violating  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  my  country. 

It  can  seldom  be  necessary  for  any  department  of  the 
government,  when  assailed  in  conversation,  or  debate,  or 
by  the  strictures  of  the  press  or  of  popular  assemblies,  to 
step  out  of  its  ordinary  path  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating 
its  conduct,  or  of  pointing  out  any  irregularity  or  injustice 
in  the  manner  of  the  attack.  But  when  the  Chief  Execu 
tive  Magistrate  is,  by  one  of  the  most  important  branches 
of  the  government,  in  its  official  capacity,  in  a  public 
manner,  and  by  its  recorded  sentence,  but  without  prece- 


288  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

dent,  competent  authority,  or  just  cause,  declared  guilty  cf 
the  breach  of  the  laws  and  Constitution,  it  is  due  to  his 
station,  to  public  opinion,  and  to  proper  self-respect,  th:.t 
the  officer  thus  denounced  should  promptly  expose  the 
wrong-  which  has  been  done. 

In  the  present  case,  moreover,  there  is  even  a  stronger 
necessity  ror  such  a  vindication.  By  an  express  provision 
of  the  Constitution,  before  the  President  of  the  United 
States  can  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  is 
required  to  take  an  oath  or  affirmation,  in  the  following 
words  : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  afiirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States  ;  ard 
will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defer  d 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

The  duty  of  defending,  so  far  as  in  him  lies,  the  integ 
rity  of  the  Constitution,  would  indeed  have  resulted  fro  n 
the  very  nature  of  his  office  ;  but,  by  thus  expressing  it 
in  the  official  oath  or  affirmation,  which,  in  this  respect, 
differs  from  that  of  every  other  functionary,  the  founders 
of  our  republic  have  attested  their  sense  of  its  importance, 
and  have  given  to  it  a  peculiar  solemnity  and  force.  Bound 
to  the  performance  of  this  duty  by  the  oath  I  have  taken, 
by  the  strongest  obligations  of  gratitude  to  the  American 
people,  and  by  the  ties  which  unite  my  every  earthly  in 
terest  with  the  welfare  and  glory  of  my  country  ;  and 
perfectly  convinced  that  the  discussion  and  passage  of  the 
above-mentioned  resolution  were  not  only  unauthorized  by 
the  Constitution,  but  in  many  respects  repugnant  to  its 
provisions,  and  subversive  of  the  rights  secured  by  it  lo 
other  co-ordinate  departments,  I  deem  it  an  imperative 
duty  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  that  sacred  instrument, 
and  the  immunities  of  the  department  intrusted  to  my 
care,  by  all  means  consistent  with  my  own  lawful  powers, 
with  the  rights  of  others,  and  with  the  genius  of  our  civil 
institutions.  To  this  end,  I  have  caused  this,  my  solemn 
protest  against  the  aforesaid  proceedings,  to  be  placed  on 
the  files  of  the  Executive  Department,  and  to  be  transmitted 
to  the  Senate. 


PROTEST.  389 


POWERS    OF    THE    SENATE    IN    CASES    OF    IMPEACHMENT. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  powers 
and  functions  of  the  various  departments  of  the  federal 
government,  and  their  responsibilities  for  violation  or 
neglect  of  duty,  are  clearly  defined,  or  result  by  necessary 
inference.  The  legislative  power,  subject  to  the  qualified 
negative  of  the  President,  is  vested  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  composed  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Re 
presentatives.  The  executive  power  is  vested  exclusively 
in  the  President,  except  that  in  the  conclusion  of  treaties, 
and  in  certain  appointments  to  office,  he  is  to  act  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  The  judicial  power  is 
vested  exclusively  in  the  Supreme  and  other  Courts  of  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  for  which 
purpose  the  accusatory  power  is  vested  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  that  of  hearing  and  determining  in 
the  Senate.  But  although,  for  the  special  purposes  which 
have  been  mentioned,  there  is  an  occasional  intermixture 
of  the  powers  of  the  different  departments,  yet,  with  these 
exceptions,  each  of  the  three  great  departments  is  inde 
pendent  of  the  others  in  its  sphere  of  action ;  and  when 
it  deviates  from  that  sphere,  is  not  responsible  to  the  others, 
further  than  it  is  expressly  made  so  in  the  Constitution. 
In  every  other  respect,  each  of  them  is  the  coequal  of  the 
other  two,  and  all  are  the  servants  of  the  American  people, 
without  power  or  right  to  control  or  censure  each  other  in 
the  service  of  their  common  superior,  save  only  in  the 
manner  and  to  the  degree  which  that  superior  has  pre 
scribed. 

The  responsibilities  of  the  President  are  numerous  and 
weighty.  He  is  liable  to  impeachment  for  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanors,  and,  on  due  conviction,  to  removal  from 
office,  and  perpetual  disqualification  ;  and  notwithstanding 
such  conviction,  he  may  also  be  indicted  and  punished 
according  to  law.  He  is  also  liable  to  the  private  action 
of  any  party,  who  may  have  been  injured  by  his  illegal 
mandatesjor  instructions,  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the 
same  extent  as  the  humblest  functionary.  In  addition  to 
the  responsibilities  which  may  thus  be  enforced  by  iin- 


290  LIFE    OF  JACKSON. 

peachment,  criminal  prosecution,  or  suit  at  law,  he  is  also 
accountable  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion,  for  every  act  of 
his  administration.  Subject  only  to  the  restraints  of  truth 
and  justice,  the  free  people  of  the  United  States  have  the 
undoubted  right,  as  individuals  or  collectively,  orally  or  in 
writing,  at  such  times,  and  in  such  language  and  form  as 
they  may  think  proper,  to  discuss  his  official  conduct,  and 
to  express  and  promulgate  their  opinions  concerning  it. 
Indirectly,  also,  his  conduct  may  come  under  review  in 
either  branch  of  the  legislature,  or  in  the  Senate  when 
acting  in  its  executive  capacity,  and  so  far  as  the  execu 
tive  or  legislative  proceedings  of  these  bodies  may  require 
it,  it  may  be  examined  by  them.  These  are  believed  to 
be  the  proper  and  only  modes  in  which  the  President  of 
the  United  States  is  to  be  held  accountable  for  his  official 
conduct. 

Tested  by  these  principles,  the  resolution  of  the  Senate 
is  wholly  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution,  and  in  deroga 
tion  of  its  entire  spirit.  It  assumes  that  a  single  branch 
of  the  legislative  department  may,  for  the  purposes  of  a 
public  censure,  and  without  any  view  to  legislation  or 
impeachment,  take  up,  consider,  and  decide  upon  the  of 
ficial  acts  of  the  Executive.  But  in  no  part  of  the  Con 
stitution  is  the  President  subjected  to  any  such  responsi 
bility  ;  and  in  no  part  of  that  instrument  is  any  such 
power  conferred  on  either  branch  of  the  legislature. 

The  justice  of  these  conclusions  will  be  illustrated  and 
confirmed  by  a  brief  analysis  of  the  powers  of  the  Senate, 
and  a  comparison  of  their  recent  proceedings  with  those 
powers. 

The  high  functions  assigned  by  the  Constitution  to  the 
Senate,  are  in  their  nature  either  legislative,  executive,  or 
judicial.  It  is  only  in  the  exercise  of  its  judicial  powers, 
when  sitting  as  a  court  for  the  trial  of  impeachments,  that 
the  Senate  is  expressly  authorized  and  necessarily  required 
to  consider  and  decide  upon  the  conduct  of  the  President 
or  any  other  public  officer.  Indirectly,  however,  as  has 
been  already  suggested,  it  may  frequently  be  called  on 
to  perform  that  office.  Cases  may  occur  in  the  course  of 
its  legislative  or  executive  proceedings,  in  which  it  may 


PROTEST.  991 

be  indispensable  to  the  proper  exercise  of  its  powers,  that 
it  should  inquire  into,  and  decide  upon,  the  conduct  of  the 
President  or  other  public  officers ;  and  in  every  such  case, 
its  constitutional  right  to  do  so  is  cheerfully  conceded. 
But  to  authorize  the  Senate  to  enter  on  such  a  task,  in  its 
legislative  or  executive  capacity,  the  inquiry  must  actually 
grow  out  of  and  tend  to  some  legislative  or  executive 
action  ;  and  the  decision,  when  expressed,  must  take  the 
form  of  some  appropriate  legislative  or  executive  act. 

The  resolution  in  question  was  introduced,  discussed,  and 
passed,  not  as  a  joint,  but  as  a  separate  resolution.  It  as 
serts  no  legislative  power;  proposes  no  legislative  action; 
and  neither  possesses  the  form  nor  any  of  the  attributes  of 
a  legislative  measure.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
entertained  or  passed  with  any  view  or  expectation  of  its 
issuing  in  a  law  or  joint  resolution,  or  in  the  repeal  of  any 
law  or  joint  resolution,  or  in  any  other  legislative  action. 

While  wanting  both  the  form  and  substance  of  a  legis 
lative  measure,  it  is  equally  manifest  that  the  resolution 
was  not  justified  by  any  of  the  executive  powers  conferred 
on  the  Senate,  These  powers  relate  exclusively  to  the 
consideration  of  treaties  and  nominations  to  office,  and 
they  are  exercised  in  secret  session,  and  with  closed  doors. 
This  resolution  does  not  apply  to  any  treaty  or  nomina 
tion,  and  was  passed  in  a  public  session. 

Nor  does  this  proceeding  in  any  way  belong  to  that 
class  of  incidental  resolutions  which  relate  to  the  officers 
of  the  Senate,  to  their  chamber,  and  other  appurtenances, 
or  to  subjects  of  order,  and  other  matters  of  the  like  nature 
— in  all  which  either  House  may  lawfully  proceed,  with 
out  any  co-operation  with  the  other,  or  with  the  President. 

On  the  contrary,  the  whole  phraseology  and  sense  of 
the  resolution  seem  to  be  judicial.  Its  essence,  true  cha 
racter,  and  only  practical  effect,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
conduct  which  it  charges  upon  the  President,  and  in  the 
judgment  which  it  pronounces  upon  that  conduct.  The 
resolution,  therefore,  though  discussed  and  adopted  by  the 
Senate  in  its  legislative  capacity,  is,  in  its  office,  and  in  all 
its  characteristics,  essentially  judicial. 

That  the  Senate  possesses  a  high  judicial  power,  and 
13* 


292  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

that  instances  may  occur  in  which  the  President  of  the 
United-States  will  be  amenable  to  it,  is  undeniable.  But 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  it  would  seem  to 
be  equally  plain,  that  neither  the  President,  nor  any  other 
officer,  can  be  rightfully  subjected  to  the  operation  of  the 
judicial  power  of  the  Senate,  except  in  the  cases  and 
under  the  forms  prescribed  by  the  Constitution. 

The  Constitution  declares  that  "the  President,  Vice- 
president,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  removed  from  office,  on  impeachment  for  and  convic 
tion  of  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misde 
meanors;"  that  the  House  of  Representatives  "shall  have 
the  sole  power  of  impeachment ;"  that  the  Senate  "shall 
have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments ;"  that 
"  when  sittmg  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or 
affirmation :"  that  "  when  the  President  of  the  United 
States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside  ;"  that  "  no 
person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present ;"  and  that  judgment  shall 
not  extend  farther  than  "  to  removal  from  office,  and  dis 
qualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust, 
or  profit,  under  the  United  States." 

The  resolution  above  quoted,  charges,  in  substance,  that 
in  certain  proceedings  relating  to  the  public  revenue,  the 
President  has  usurped  authority  and  power  not  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  Constitution  and  laws,  and  that  in  doing 
so,  he  violated  both.  Any  such  act  constitutes  a  high 
crime — one  of  the  highest,  indeed,  which  the  President 
can  commit — a  crime  which  justly  exposes  him  to  im 
peachment  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  and,  upon 
due  conviction,  to  removal  from  office,  and  to  the  complete 
and  immutable  disfranchisement  prescribed  by  the  Con 
stitution. 

The  resolution,  then,  was  in  substance  an  impeachment 
of  the  President ;  and  in  its  passage,  amounts  to  a  decla 
ration  by  a  majority  of  the  Senate,  that  he  is  guilty  of  an 
impeachable  offence.  As  such,  it  is  spread  upon  the 
journals  of  the  Senate — published  to  the  nation  and  to  the 
world — made  part  of  our  enduring  archives — and  incor 
porated  in  the  history  of  the  age.  The  punishment  of 


PROTEST.  293 

removal  from  office  and  future  disqualification,  does  not, 
it  is  true,  follow  this  decision  ;  nor  would  it  have  followed 
the  like  decision,  if  the  regular  forms  of  proceeding  had 
been  pursued,  because  the  requisite  number  did  not  con 
cur  in  the  result.  But  the  moral  influence  of  a  solemn 
declaration,  by  a  majority  of  the  Senate,  that  the  accused 
is  guilty  of  the  offence  charged  upon  him,  has  been  as 
effectually  secured,  as  if  the  like  declaration  had  been 
made  upon  an  impeachment  expressed  in  the  same  terms. 
Indeed,  a  greater  practical  effect  has  been  gained,  because 
the  votes  given  for  the  resolution,  though  not  sufficient  to 
authorize  a  judgment  of  guilty  on  an  impeachment,  were 
numerous  enough  to  carry  that  resolution. 

That  the  resolution  does  not  expressly  allege  that  the 
assumption  of  power  and  authority,  which  it  condemns, 
was  intentional  and  corrupt,  is  no  answer  to  the  preceding 
view  of  its  character  and  effect. 

The  act  thus  condemned,  necessarily  implies  violation 
and  design  in  the  individual  to  whom  it  is  imputed,  and 
being  unlawful  in  its  character,  the  legal  conclusion  is, 
that  it  was  prompted  by  improper  motives,  and  committed 
with  an  unlawful  intent.  The  charge  is  not  of  a  mistake 
in  the  exercise  of  supposed  powers,  but  of  the  assumption 
of  powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  and  laws,  and 
in  derogation  of  both  ;  and  nothing  is  suggested  to  excuse 
or  palliate  the  turpitude  of  the  act.  In  the  absence  of  any 
such  excuse  or  palliation,  there  is  only  room  for  one  infer 
ence  ;  and  that  is,  that  the  intent  was  unlawful  and  cor 
rupt.  Besides,  the  resolution  not  only  contains  no  miti 
gating  suggestion,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  holds  up  the 
act  complained  of  as  justly  obnoxious  to  censure  and  re 
probation  ;  and  thus  as  distinctly  stamps  it  with  impurity 
)f  motive,  as  if  the  strongest  epithets  had  been  used. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  therefore,  has  been, 
by  a  majority  of  his  constitutional  triers,  accused  and 
found  guilty  of  an  impeachable  offence  ;  but  in  no  part 
of  this  proceeding  have  the  directions  of  the  Constitution 
been  observed. 

The  impeachment,  instead  of  being  preferred  and  pro 
secuted  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  originated  in 


294  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

the  Senate,  and  was  prosecuted  without  the  aid  or  con 
currence  of  the  other  house.  The  oath  or  affirmation 
prescribed  by  the  Constitution,  was  not  taken  by  the 
senators  ;  the  Chief  Justice  did  not  preside  ;  no  notice  of 
the  charge  was  given  to  the  accused ;  and  no  opportunity 
afforded  him  to  respond  to  the  accusation,  to  meet  his 
accusers  face  to  face,  to  cross-examine  the  witnesses,  to 
procure  counteracting  testimony,  or  to  be  heard  in  his 
defence.  The  safeguards  and  formalities  which  the  Con 
stitution  has  connected  with  the  power  of  impeachment, 
were  doubtless  supposed,  by  the  framers  of  that  instru 
ment,  to  be  essential  to  the  protection  of  the  public  servant, 
to  the  attainment  of  justice,  and  to  the  order,  impartiality, 
and  dignity  of  the  procedure.  These  safeguards  and  for 
malities  were  not  only  practically  disregarded,  in  the  com 
mencement  and  conduct  of  these  proceedings,  but,  in  their 
result,  I  find  myself  convicted  by  less  than  two-thirds  of 
the  members  present,  of  an  impeachable  offence. 

In  vain  it  may  be  alleged  in  defence  of  this  proceeding, 
that  the  form  of  the  resolution  is  not  that  of  an  impeach 
ment  or  a  judgment  thereupon — that  the  punishment  pre 
scribed  in  the  Constitution  does  not  follow  its  adoption,  or 
that  in  this  case  no  impeachment  is  to  be  expected  from 
the  House  of  Representatives.  It  is  because  it  did  not 
assume  the  form  of  an  impeachment,  that  it  is  more  pal 
pably  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  ;  for  it  is  through 
that  form  only  that  the  President  is  judicially  responsible 
to  the  Senate  ;  and  though  neither  removal  from  office, 
nor  future  disqualification  ensues,  yet  it  is  not  to  be  pre 
sumed  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  considered 
either  or  both  of  those  results  as  constituting  the  whole 
ot  the  punishment  they  prescribed.  The  judgment  of 
guilty  by  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  Union ;  the  stigma 
it  would  inflict  on  the  offender,  his  family  and  fame  ;  and 
the  perpetual  record  on  the  journal,  handing  down  to 
future  generations  the  story  of  his  disgrace,  were  doubt 
less  regarded  by  them  as  the  bitterest  portions,  if  not  the 
very  essence  of  that  punishment.  So  far,  therefore,  as 
some  of  its  most  material  parts  are  concerned,  the  pas- 
age,  recording,  and  promulgation  of  the  resolution,  are 


PROTEST.  295 

an  attempt  to  bring  them  on  the  President,  in  a  manner 
unauthorized  by  the  Constitution.  To  shield  him  and 
other  officers  who  are  liable  to  impeachment,  from  conse 
quences  so  momentous,  except  when  really  merited  by 
official  delinquencies,  the  Constitution  has  most  carefully 
guarded  the  whole  process  of  impeachment.  A  majority 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  must  think  the  officer 
guilty  before  he  can  be  charged.  Two-thirds  of  the  Senate 
must  pronounce  him  guilty,  or  he  is  deemed  to  be  inno 
cent.  Forty-six  senators  appear  by  the  journal  to  have 
been  present  when  the  vote  on  the  resolution  was  taken. 
If,  after  all  the  solemnities  of  an  impeachment,  thirty  of 
those  senators  had  voted  that  the  President  was  guilty, 
yet  would  he  have  been  acquitted ;  but  by  the  mode  of 
proceeding  adopted  in  the  present  case,  a  lasting  record 
of  conviction  has  been  entered  up  by  the  votes  of  twenty- 
six  senators,  without  an  impeachment  or  trial ;  whilst  the 
Constitution  expressly  declares,  that  to  the  entry  of  such 
a  judgment  on  accusation  by  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  a  trial  by  the  Senate,  and  a  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  in  the  vote  of  guilty,  shall  be  indispensable  pre 
requisites. 

Whether  or  not  an  impeachment  was  to  be  expected 
from  the  House  of  Representatives,  was  a  point  on  which 
the  Senate  had  no  constitutional  right  to  speculate,  and  in 
respect  to  which,  even  had  it  possessed  the  spirit  of  pro 
phecy,  its  anticipations  would  have  furnished  no  just 
grounds  for  this  procedure.  Admitting  that  there  was 
reason  to  believe  that  a  violation  of  the  Constitution  and 
laws  had  been  actually  committed  by  the  President,  still 
,'t  was  the  duty  of  the  Senate,  as  his  sole  constitutional 
judges,  to  wait  for  an  impeachment  until  the  other  house 
should  think  proper  to  prefer  it.  The  members  of  the 
Senate  could  have  no  right  to  infer  that  no  impeachment 
was  intended.  On  the  contrary,  every  legal  and  rational 
presumption  on  their  part  ought  to  have  been,  that  if  there 
was  good  reason  to  believe  him  guilty  of  an  impeachable 
offence,  the  House  of  Representatives  would  perform  its 
constitutional  duty  by  arraigning  the  offender  before  the 
justice  of  his  country.  The  contrary  presumption  would 


296  LIFE    OP   JACKSON. 

involve  an  implication  derogatory  to  the  integrity  and 
honor  of  the  representatives  of  the  people.  But  suppose 
the  suspicion  thus  implied  were  actually  entertained,  and 
for  good  cause,  how  can  it  justify  the  assumption  by  the 
Senate,  of  powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  ? 

It  is  only  necessary  to  look  at  the  condition  in  which 
the  Senate  and  the  President  have  been  placed  by  this 
proceeding,  to  perceive  its  utter  incompatibility  with  the 
provisions  and  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  with  the 
plainest  dictates  of  humanity  and  justice. 

If  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  of  opinion  that 
there  is  just  ground  for  the  censure  pronounced  upon  the 
President,  then  will  it  be  the  solemn  duty  of  that  House 
to  prefer  the  proper  accusation,  and  to  cause  him  to  be 
brought  to  trial  by  the  constitutional  tribunal.  But  in 
what  condition  would  he  find  that  tribunal?  A  majority 
of  its  members  have  already  considered  the  case,  and  have 
not  only  formed,  but  expressed  a  deliberate  judgment  upon 
its  merits.  It  is  the  policy  of  our  benign  system  of  juris 
prudence,  to  secure  in  all  criminal  proceedings,  and  even 
in  the  most  trivial  litigations,  a  fair,  unprejudiced,  and 
impartial  trial.  And  surely  it  cannot  be  less  important, 
that  such  a  trial  should  be  secured  to  the  highest  officer 
of  the  government. 

The  Constitution  makes  the  House  of  Representatives 
the  exclusive  judges,  in  the  first  instance,  of  the  question, 
whether  the  President  has  committed  an  impeachable  of 
fence.  A  majority  of  the  Senate,  whose  interference  with 
this  preliminary  question  has,  for  the  best  of  all  reasons, 
been  studiously  excluded,  anticipate  the  action  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  assume  not  only  the  function 
which  belongs  exclusively  to  that  body,  but  convert  them 
selves  into  accusers,  witnesses,  counsel,  and  judges,  and 
pre-judge  the  whole  case.  Thus  presenting  the  appalling 
spectacle,  in  a  free  state,  of  judges  going  through  a  labored 
preparation  for  an  impartial  hearing  and  decision,  by  a 
previous  ex  parte  investigation  and  sentence  against  the 
supposed  offender. 

There  is  no  more  settled  axiom  in  that  government 
whence  we  derive  the  model  of  this  part  of  our  Constitu- 


PROTEST.  297 

tiori,  than  "  that  the  lords  cannot  impeach  any  to  them 
selves,  nor  join  in  the  accusation,  because  they  are  judges.'11 
Independently  of  the  general  reason  on  which  this  rule  is 
founded,  its  propriety  and  importance  are  greatly  in 
creased  by  the  nature  of  the  impeaching  power.  The 
power  of  arraigning  the  high  officers  of  government,  be 
fore  a  tribunal  whose  sentence  may  expel  them  from  their 
seats,  and  brand  them  as  infamous,  is  eminently  a  popular 
remedy — a  remedy  designed  to  be  employed  for  the  pro 
tection  of  private,  right  and  public  liberty,  against  the 
abuses  of  injustice,  and  the  encroachments  of  arbitrary 
power.  But  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  were  also 
undoubtedly  aware  that  this  formidable  instrument  had 
been  and  might  be  abused  ;  and  that  from  its  very  nature, 
an  impeachment  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  what 
ever  might  be  its  result,  would  in  most  cases  be  accom 
panied  by  so  much  of  dishonor  and  reproach,  solicitude 
and  suffering,  as  to  make  the  power  of  preferring  it,  one 
of  the  highest  solemnity  and  importance.  It  was  due  to 
both  these  considerations  that  the  impeaching  power 
should  be  lodged  in  the  hands  of  those  who,  from  the 
mode  of  their  election  and  the  tenure  of  their  offices, 
would  most  accurately  express  the  popular  will,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  most  directly  and  speedily  amenable  to 
the  people.  The  theory  of  these  wise  and  benignant  in 
tentions  is,  in  the  present  case,  effectually  defeated  by  the 
proceedings  of  the  Senate.  The  members  of  that  body 
represent  not  the  people,  but  the  states  ;  and  though  they 
are  undoubtedly  responsible  to  the  states,  yet,  from  their 
extended  term  of  service,  the  effect  of  that  responsibility, 
during  the  whole  period  of  that  term,  must  very  much 
depend  upon  their  own  impressions  of  its  obligatory  force. 
When  a  body,  thus  constituted,  expresses  beforehand  its 
opinion  in  a  particular  case,  and  thus  indirectly  invites  a 
prosecution,  it  not  only  assumes  a  power  intended  for  wise 
reasons  to  be  confined  to  others,  but  it  shields  the  latter 
from  that  exclusive  and  personal  responsibility  undei 
which  it  was  intended  to  be  exercised,  and  reverses  the 
whole  scheme  of  this  part  of  the  Constitution. 

Such  would  be  some  of  the  objections  to  this  procedure 


298  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

even  if  it  were  admitted  that  there  is  just  ground  for  im 
puting  to  the  President  the  offences  charged  in  the  reso 
lution.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  shall  be  of  opinion  that  there  is  no  reason  for 
charging  them  upon  him,  and  shall  therefore  deem  it 
improper  to  prefer  an  impeachment,  then  will  the  violation 
of  privilege,  as  it  respects  that  House,  of  justice,  as  it  re 
gards  the  President,  and  of  the  Constitution  as  it  relates 
to  both,  be  only  the  more  conspicuous  and  impressive. 

RIGHT    OF    THE    PRESIDENT    TO    REMOVE    THE    SECRETARY 
OF    THE    TREASURY. 

By  the  Constitution,  the  executive  power  is  vested  in 
the  President  of  the  United  States.  Among  the  duties 
imposed  upon  him,  and  which  he  is  sworn  to  perform,  is 
that  of  "  taking  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed." 
Being  thus  made  responsible  for  the  entire  action  of  the 
executive  department,  it  was  but  reasonable  that  the  power 
of  appointing,  overseeing,  and  controllingthose  who  execute 
the  laws — a  power  in  its  nature  executive — should  remain 
in  his  hands,  tt  is  therefore  not  only  his  right,  but  the 
Constitution  makes  it  his  duty  to  "nominate,  and  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  appoint"  all 
"officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not 
in  the  Constitution  otherwise  provided  for,"  with  the  pro 
viso  that  the  appointment  of  inferior  officers  may  be  vested 
in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  justice,  or  in  the 
heads  of  departments. 

The  executive  power  vested  in  the  Senate  is  neither 
.hat  of  "nominating"  nor  "appointing."  It  is  merely  a 
check  upon  the  executive  power  of  appointment.  If  in 
dividuals  are  proposed  for  appointment  by  the  President, 
by  them  deemed  incompetent  or  unworthy,  they  may 
withhold  their  consent,  and  the  appointment  cannot  be 
made.  They  check  the  action  of  the  Executive,  but 
cannot,  in  relation  to  these  very  subjects,  act  themselves, 
nor  direct  him.  Selections  are  still  made  by  the  Presi 
dent;  and  the  negative  given  to  the  Senate,  without  dimi 
nishing  his  responsibility,  furnishes  an  additional  guarantee 
to  the  country  that  the  subordinate  executive,  as  well  as 


PROTEST.  299 

the  judicial  offices,  shall  be  filled  with  worthy  and  com 
petent  men. 

The  whole  executive  power  being  vested  in  the  Pre 
sident,  who  is  responsible  for  its  exercise,  it  is  a  necessary 
consequence  that  he  should  have  a  right  to  employ  agents 
of  his  own  choice  to  aid  him  in  the  performance  of  his 
duties,  and  to  discharge  them  when  he  is  no  longer  willing 
to  be  responsible  for  their  acts.  In  strict  accordance  with 
this  principle,  the  power  of  removal,  which,  like  that  of 
appointment,  is  an  original  executive  power,  is  left  un 
checked  by  the  Constitution  in  relation  to  all  executive 
officers,  for  whose  conduct  the  President  is  responsible, 
while  it  is  taken  from  him  in  relation  to  judicial  officers, 
for  whose  acts  he  is  not  responsible.  In  the  government 
from  which  many  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our 
system  are  derived,  the  head  of  the  executive  department, 
originally  had  power  to  appoint  and  remove  at  will  all 
officers,  executive  and  judicial.  It  was  to  take  the  judges 
out  of  this  general  power  of  removal,  and  thus  make  them 
independent  of  the  Executive,  that  the  tenure  of  their 
offices  was  changed  to  good  behavior.  Nor  is  it  conceiv 
able  why  they  are  placed  in  our  Constitution  upon  a  tenure 
different  from  that  of  all  other  officers  appointed  by  the 
Executive,  unless  it  be  for  the  same  purpose. 

But  if  there  were  any  just  ground  for  doubt,  on  the  face 
of  the  Constitution,  whether  all  executive  officers  are  re 
movable  at  the  will  of  the  President,  it  is  obviated  by  the 
cotemporaneous  construction  of  the  instrument  and  the 
uniform  practice  under  it. 

The  power  of  removal  was  a  topic  of  solemn  debate  in 
the  Congress  of  1789,  while  organizing  the  administrative 
departments  of  the  government,  and  it  was  finally  decided, 
that  the  President  derived  from  the  Constitution  the  power 
of  removal,  so  far  as  it  regards  that  department  for  whose 
acts  he  is  responsible.  Although  the  debate  covered  the 
whole  ground,  embracing  the  treasury  as  well  as  all  the 
other  executive  departments,  it  arose  on  a  motion  to  strike 
out  of  the  bill  to  establish  a  department  of  foreign  affairs, 
since  called  the  department  of  state,  a  clause  declaring 
the  secretary  "  to  be  removable  from  office  by  the  Presi- 


300  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

dent  of  the  United  States."  After  that  motion  had  been 
decided  in  the  negative,  it  was  perceived  that  these  words 
did  not  convey  the  sense  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  relation  to  the  true  source  of  the  power  of  removal. 
With  the  avowed  object  of  preventing  any  future  infer 
ence,  that  this  power  was  exercised  by  the  President  in 
virtue  of  a  grant  from  Congress,  when  in  fact  that  body 
considered  it  as  derived  from  the  Constitution,  the  words 
which  had  been  the  subject  of  debate,  were  struck  out 
and  in  lieu  thereof  a  clause  was  inserted  in  a  provision 
concerning  the  chief  clerk  of  the  department,  which  de 
clared  that  "  whenever  the  said  principal  officer  shall  be 
removed  from  office  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
or  in  any  other  case  of  vacancy,"  the  chief  clerk  should 
during  such  vacancy  have  charge  of  the  papers  of  the 
office.  This  change  having  been  made  for  the  express 
purpose  of  declaring  the  sense  of  Congress,  that  the  Pre 
sident  derived  the  power  of  removal  from  the  Constitution, 
the  act,  as  it  passed,  has  always  been  considered  as  a  full 
expression  of  the  sense  of  the  legislature  on  this  import 
ant  part  of  the  American  Constitution. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  concurrent  authority  of  Pre 
sident  Washington,  of  the  Senate,  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  numbers  of  whom  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution,  and  in  the 
state  Convention  which  adopted  it,  that  the  President 
derived  an  unqualified  power  of  removal  from  that  instru 
ment  itself,  which  is  "  beyond  the  reach  of  legislative 
authority."  Upon  this  principle  the  government  has 
now  been  steadily  administered  for  about  forty-five  years, 
during  which  there  have  been  numerous  removals  made 
bv  the  President,  or  by  his  direction,  embracing  every 
grade  of  executive  officers,  from  the  heads  of  departments 
to  the  messengers  of  bureaus. 

The  treasury  department,  in  the  discussions  of  1789, 
was  considered  on  the  same  footing  as  the  other  executive 
departments,  and  in  the  act  establishing  it,  the  precise 
words  were  incorporated  indicative  of  the  sense  of  Con 
gress,  that  the  President  derives  his  power  to  remove  the 
secretary  from  the  Constitution,  which  appear  in  the  act 


PROTEST.  301 

establishing  the  department  of  foreign  affairs.  An  assist 
ant  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  created,  and  it  was  pro 
vided  that  he  should  take  charge  of  the  books  and  papers 
of  the  department,  "  whenever  the  secretary  shall  be  re 
moved  from  office  by  the  President  of  the  United  States." 
The  secretary  of  the  treasury  being  appointed  by  the 
President,  and  being  considered  as  constitutionally  remov 
able  by  him,  it  appears  never  to  have  occurred  to  any 
one  in  the  Congress  of  1789,  or  since,  until  very  recent 
ly,  that  he  was  other  than  an  executive  officer,  the  mere 
instrument  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  in  the  execution  of 
the  laws,  subject,  like  all  other  heads  of  departments,  to 
his  supervision  and  control.  No  such  idea,  as  an  officer  of 
the  Congress,  can  be  found  in  the  Constitution,  or  appears 
to  have  suggested  itself  to  those  who  organized  the  go 
vernment. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  honest  differences  of  opinion  which  occasionally 
exist  between  the  Senate  and  the  President,  in  regard  to 
matters  in  which  both  are  obliged  to  participate,  are  suf 
ficiently  embarrassing.  But  if  the  course  recently  adopted 
by  the  Senate  shall  hereafter  be  frequently  pursued,  it  is 
not  only  obvious  that  the  harmony  of  the  relations  between 
the  President  and  the  Senate  will  be  destroyed,  but  that 
other  and  graver  effects  will  ultimately  ensue.  If  the 
censures  of  the  Senate  be  submitted  to  by  the  President, 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  his  ability  and  virtue,  and 
the  character  and  usefulness  of  his  administration,  will 
soon  be  at  an  end,  and  the  real  power  of  the  government 
will  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  body,  holding  their  offices  for 
long  terms,  not  elected  by  the  people,  and  not  to  them 
directly  responsible.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  illegal 
censures  of  the  Senate  should  be  resisted  by  tjip  President, 
collisions  and  angry  controversies  might  ensue,  discredit 
able  in  their  progress,  and  in  the  end  compelling  the  peo 
ple  to  adopt  the  conclusion,  either  that  their  Chief  Magis 
trate  was  unworthy  of  their  respect,  or  that  the  Senate 
was  chargeable  with  calumny  and  injustice.  Either  of 
ihese  results  would  impair  public  confidence  in  the  per- 


302  LWE    OF   JACKSON. 

fection  of  the  system,  and  lead  to  serious  alterations  of  its 
framework,  or  to  the  practical  abandonment  of  some  of  its 
provisions. 

The  influence  of  such  proceedings  on  the  other  depart 
ments  of  the  government,  and  more  especially  on  the 
states,  could  not  fail  to  be  extensively  pernicious.  When 
the  judges,  in  the  last  resort,  of  official  misconduct,  them 
selves  overleaped  the  bounds  of  their  authority,  as  pre 
scribed  by  the  Constitution,  what  general  disregard  of  its 
provisions  might  not  their  example  be  expected  to  pro 
duce  ?  And  who  does  not  perceive  that  such  contempt  of 
the  federal  Constitution,  by  one  of  its  most  important  de 
partments,  would  hold  out  the  strongest  temptations  to 
resistance  on  the  part  of  the  state  sovereignties,  whenever 
they  shall  suppose  their  just  rights  to  have  been  invaded? 
Thus  all  the  independent  departments  of  the  government, 
and  the  states  which  compose  our  confederated  union, 
instead  of  attending  to  their  appropriate  duties,  and  leav 
ing  those  who  may  offend  to  be  reclaimed  or  punished  in 
the  manner  pointed  out  in  the  Constitution,  would  fall  to 
mutual  crimination  and  recrimination,  and  give  to  the 
people  confusion  and  anarchy,  instead  of  order  and  law ; 
until  at  length  some  form  of  aristocratic  power  would  be 
established  on  the  ruins  of  the  Constitution,  or  the  states 
be  broken  into  separate  communities. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  charge,  or  to  insinuate,  that  the 
present  Senate  of  the  United  States  intended,  in  the  most 
distant  way,  to  encourage  such  a  result.  It  is  not  of  their, 
motives  or  designs,  but  only  of  the  tendency  of  their  acts, 
that  it  is  my  duty  to  speak.  It  is,  if  possible,  to  make 
senators  themselves  sensible  of  the  danger  which  lurks 
under  the  precedent  set  in  their  resolution  ;  and  at  any 
rate  to  perform  my  duty,  as  the  responsible  head  of  one 
of  the  co-equal  departments  of  the  government,  that  I  have 
been  compelled  to  point  out  the  consequences  to  which 
the  discussion  and  passage  of  the  resolution  may  lead,  if 
the  tendency  of  the  measure  be  not  checked  in  its  incep 
tion.  It  is  due  to  the  high  trust  with  which  I  have  been 
charged ;  to  those  who  may  be  called  to  succeed  me  in 


PROTEST.  303 

it ;  to  the  representatives  of  the  people,  whose  constitu 
tional  prerogative  has  been  unlawfully  assumed ;  to  the 
people  of  the  states ;  and  to  the  Constitution  they  have 
established  ;  that  I  shall  not  permit  its  provisions  to  be 
broken  down,  by  such  an  attack  on  the  executive  depart 
ment,  without  at  least  some  effort  "  to  preserve,  protect,  and 
defend  them.  *  With  this  view,  and  for  the  reasons  which 
have  been  stated,  I  do  hereby  SOLEMNLY  PROTEST  against 
the  aforementioned  proceedings  of  the  Senate,  as  un 
authorized  by  the  Constitution ;  contrary  to  its  spirit  and 
to  several  of  its  express  provisions ;  subversive  of  that 
distribution  of  the  powers  of  government  which  it  has 
ordained  and  established ;  destructive  of  the  checks  and 
safeguards  by  which  those  powers  were  intended,  on  the 
one  hand  to  be  controlled,  and  on  the  other  to  be  pro 
tected  ;  and  calculated  by  their  immediate  and  collateral 
effects,  by  their  character  and  tendency,  to  concentrate  in 
the  hands  of  a  body  not  directly  amenable  to  the  people, 
a  degree  of  influence  and  power  dangerous  to  their  liber 
ties,  and  fatal  to  the  Constitution  of  their  choice. 

The  resolution  of  the  Senate  contains  an  imputation  upon 
my  private  as  well  as  upon  my  public  character ;  and  as 
it  must  stand  for  ever  on  their  journals,  I  cannot  close  this 
substitute  for  that  defence  which  I  have  not  been  allowed 
to  present  in  the  ordinary  form,  without  remarking,  that 
I  have  lived  in  vain,  if  it  be  necessary  to  enter  into  a 
formal  vindication  of  my  character  and  motives  from  such 
an  imputation.  In  vain  do  I  bear  upon  my  person,  en 
during  memorials  of  that  contest  in  which  American 
liberty  was  purchased — in  vain  have  I  since  perilled  pro 
perty,  fame,  and  life,  in  defence  of  the  rights  and  privi 
leges  so  dearly  bought — in  vain  am  I  now,  without  a 
personal  aspiration,  or  the  hope  of  individual  advantage, 
encountering  responsibilities  and  dangers,  from  which,  by 
mere  inactivity  in  relation  to  a  single  point,  I  might  have 
been  exempt — if  any  serious  doubts  can  be  entertained  as 
to  the  purity  of  my  purposes  and  motives.  If  I  had  been 
ambitious,  I  should  have  sought  an  alliance  with  that 
powerful  institution,  which  even  now  aspires  to  no  di- 


LIFE   OF   JACKSON. 

vided  empire.  If  I  had  been  venal,  I  should  have  sold 
myself  to  its  designs.  Had  I  preferred  personal  comfort 
and  official  ease  to  the  performance  of  my  arduous  duty,  I 
should  have  ceased  to  molest  it.  In  the  history  of  con 
querors  and  usurpers,  never,  in  the  fire  of  youth,  nor  in 
the  vigor  of  manhood,  could  I  find  an  attraction  to  lure  me 
from  the  path  of  duty ;  and  now,  I  shall  scarcely  find  an 
inducement  to  commence  their  career  of  ambition,  when 
gray  hairs  and  a  decaying  frame,  instead  of  inviting  to 
toil  and  battle,  call  me  to  the  contemplation  of  other 
worlds,  where  conquerors  cease  to  be  honored,  and  usurp 
ers  expiate  their  crimes. 

The  only  ambition  I  can  feel  is,  to  acquit  myself  to  Him 
to  whom  I  must  soon  render  an  account  of  my  steward 
ship,  to  serve  my  fellow-men,  and  live  respected  and 
honored  in  the  history  of  my  country.  No  !  the  ambition 
which  leads  me  on,  is  an  anxious  desire  and  a  fixed  de 
termination,  to  return  to  the  people,  unimpaired,  the 
sacred  trust  they  have  confided  to  my  charge ;  to  heal 
the  wounds  of  the  Constitution  and  preserve  it  from 
further  violation ;  to  persuade  my  countrymen,  so  far  as 
I  may,  that  it  is  not  in  a  splendid  government,  supported 
by  powerful  monopolies  and  aristocratical  establishments, 
that  they  will  find  happiness,  or  their  liberties  protection  ; 
but  in  a  plain  system,  void  of  pomp — protecting  all,  and 
granting  favors  to  none — dispensing  its  blessings  like  the 
dews  of  Heaven,  unseen  and  unfelt,  save  in  the  freshness 
and  beauty  they  contribute  to  produce.  It  is  such  a 
government  that  the  genius  of  our  people  requires — such 
an  one  only  under  which  our  states  may  remain  for  ages 
to  come,  united,  prosperous,  and  free.  If  the  Almighty 
Being  who  has  hitherto  sustained  and  protected  me,  will 
but  vouchsafe  to  make  my  feeble  powers  instrumental  to 
such  a  result,  I  shall  anticipate  with  pleasure  the  place 
to  be  assigned  me  in  the  history  of  my  country,  and  die 
contented  with  the  belief,  that  I  have  contributed,  in  some 
small  degree,  to  increase  the  value  and  prolong  the  dura 
tion  of  American  liberty. 

To  the  end  that  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  may  not 


PROTEST.  305 

be  hereafter  drawn  into  precedent,  with  the  authority  of 
silent  acquiescence  on  the  part  of  the  executive  depart 
ment,  and  to  the  end,  also,  that  my  motives  and  views 
in  the  executive  proceedings  denounced  in  that  resolu 
tion,  may  be  known  to  my  fellow-citizens,  to  the  world, 
and  to  ail  posterity,  I  respectfully  request  that  this  mes 
sage  and  protest  may  be  entered  at  length  on  the  journals 
of  the  Senate. 


306  LIFE   OF  JACKSON. 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE. 

Delivered,  Decmber  2d,  1834. 

Fellow-  Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa 
tives: — 

In  performing  my  duty  at  the  opening  of  your  present 
session,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  congratulate  you  again 
upon  the  prosperous  condition  of  our  beloved  country. 
Divine  Providence  has  favored  us  with  general  health, 
with  rich  rewards  in  the  fields  of  agriculture  and  hi  every 
branch  of  labor,  and  with  peace  to  cultivate  and  extend 
the  various  resources  which  employ  the  virtue  and  enter 
prise  of  our  citizens.  Let  us  trust  that  in  surveying  a 
scene  so  flattering  to  our  free  institutions,  our  joint  deli 
berations  to  preserve  them  may  be  crowned  with  success. 
Our  foreign  relations  continue,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
to  maintain  the  favorable  aspect  which  they  bore  in  my 
last  annual  message,  and  promise  to  extend  those  advan 
tages  which  the  principles  that  regulate  our  intercourse 
with  other  nations  are  so  well  calculated  to  secure. 

The  question  of  the  northeastern  boundary  is  still  pend 
ing  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  proposition  made  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  resolution  of  the  senate  for  the  establish 
ment  of  a  line  according  to  the  treaty  of  1783,  has  not 
been  accepted  by  that  government.  Believing  that  every 
disposition  is  felt  on  both  sides  to  adjust  this  perplexing 
question  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  parties  interested  in 
it,  the  hope  is  yet  indulged  that  it  may  be  effected  on  the 
basis  of  that  proposition. 

With  the  governments  of  Austria,  Russia,  Prussia, 
Holland,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  the  best  understanding 
exists.  Commerce  with  all  is  fostered  and  protected  by 
reciprocal  good  will,  under  the  sanction  of  liberal  conven 
tional  or  legal  provisions. 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  30  7 

In  the  midst  of  her  internal  difficulties,  the  queen  of 
Spain  has  ratified  the  convention  for  the  payment  of  the 
claims  of  our  citizens  arising  since  1819.  It  is  in  the 
course  of  execution  on  her  part,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  now 
laid  before  you  for  such  legislation  as  may  be  found  ne 
cessary  to  enable  those  interested  to  derive  the  benefits 
of  it.  ' 

Yielding  to  the  force  of  circumstances,  and  to  the  wise 
councils  of  time  and  experience,  that  power  has  finally  re 
solved  no  longer  to  occupy  the  unnatural  position  in  which 
she  stood  to  the  new  governments  established  on  this  he 
misphere.  I  have  the  great  satisfaction  of  stating  to  you 
that,  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  restoration  of  harmony 
between  those  who  have  sprung  from  the  same  ancestors, 
who  are  allied  by  common  interests,  profess  the  same  re 
ligion,  and  speak  the  same  language,  the  United  States 
have  been  actively  instrumental.  Our  efforts  to  effect 
this  good  work  will  be  persevered  in  while  they  are  deem 
ed  useful  to  the  parties,  and  our  entire  disinterestedness 
continues  to  be  felt  and  understood.  The  act  of  Congress 
to  countervail  the  discriminating  duties  levied  to  the  pre 
judice  of  our  navigation,  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  has 
been  transmitted  to  the  minister  of  the  United  States  at 
Madrid,  to  be  communicated  to  the  government  of  the 
queen.  No  intelligence  of  its  receipt  has  yet  reached  the 
department  of  state.  If  the  present  condition  of  the  coun 
try  permits  the  government  to  make  a  careful  and  enlarg 
ed  examination  of  the  true  interests  of  these  important 
portions  of  its  dominions,  no  doubt  is  entertained  that 
their  future  intercourse  with  the  United  States  will  be 
placed  upon  a  more  just  and  liberal  basis. 

The  Florida  archives  have  not  yet  been  selected  and 
delivered.  Recent  orders  have  been  sent  to  the  agent  of 
the  United  States  at  Havana,  to  return  with  all  that  he 
can  obtain,  so  that  they  may  be  in  Washington  before  the 
session  of  the  supreme  court,  to  be  used  in  the  legal  ques 
tions  there  pending,  to  which  the  government  is  a  party. 

Internal  tranquility  is  happily  restored  to  Portugal. 
The  distracted  state  of  the  country  rendered  unavoidable 
the  postponement  of  a  final  payment  of  the  just  claims  of 
14 


308  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

our  citizens.  Our  diplomatic  relations  will  be  soon  re 
sumed,  and  the  long  subsisting  friendship  with  that  power 
affords  the  strongest  guarantee  that  the  balance  due  will 
receive  prompt  attention. 

The  first  instalment  due  under  the  convention  of  in 
demnity  with  the  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies  has  been  duly 
received,  and  an  offer  has  been  made  to  extinguish  the 
whole  by  a  prompt  payment;  an  offer  I  did  not  consider 
myself  authorized  to  accept,  as  the  indemnification  provi 
ded  is  the  exclusive  property  of  individual  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  The  original  adjustment  of  our  claims, 
and  the  anxiety  displayed  to  fulfil  at  once  the  stipulations 
made  for  the  payment  of  them,  are  highly  honorable  to 
the  government  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  When  it  is  recol 
lected  that  they  were  the  result  of  the  injustice  of  an 
intrusive  power,  temporarily  dominant  in  its  territory,  a 
repugnance  to  acknowledge  and  to  pay  which  would  have 
been  neither  unnatural  or  unexpected,  the  circumstances 
can  not  fail  to  exalt  its  character  for  justice  and  good  faith 
in  the  eyes  of  all  nations. 

The  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  between  the  United 
States  and  Belgium,  brought  to  your  notice  in  my  last  an 
nual  message,  as  sanctioned  by  the  senate,  but  the  ratifi 
cations  of  which  had  not  been  exchanged,  owing  to  a  de 
lay  in  its  reception  at  Brussels,  and  a  subsequent  absence 
of  the  Belgian  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  has  been,  after 
mature  deliberation,  finally  disavowed  by  that  government 
as  inconsistent  with  the  powers  and  instructions  given  to 
their  minister  who  negotiated  it.  This  disavowal  was  en 
tirely  unexpected,  as  the  liberal  principles  embodied  in 
the  convention,  and  which  form  the  groundwork  of  the 
objections  to  it,  were  perfectly  satisfactory  to  the  Belgian 
representative,  and  were  supposed  to  be  not  only  within 
the  powers  granted,  but  expressly  conformable  to  the 
instructions  given  to  him.  An  offer,  not  yet  accepted, 
has  been  made  by  Belgium  to  renew  negotiations  for  a 
treaty  less  liberal  in  its  provisions,  on  questions  of  general 
maritime  law. 

Our  newly  established  relations  with  the  Sublime  Porte 
promise  to  be  useful  to  our  commerce,  and  satisfactory  in 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  309 

every  respect  to  this  government  Our  intercourse  with 
the  Barbary  powers  continues  without  important  change, 
except  that  the  present  political  state  of  Algiers  has  in 
duced  me  to  terminate  the  residence  there  of  a  salaried 
consul,  and  to  substitute  an  ordinary  consulate,  to  remain 
so  long  as  the  place  continues  in  the  possession  of  France. 
Our  first  treaty  with  one  of  these  powers,  the  emperor  of 
Morocco,  was  formed  in  1786,  and  was  limited  to  fifty 
years.  That  period  has  almost  expired.  I  shall  take 
measures  to  renew  it  with  the  greater  satisfaction,  as  its 
stipulations  are  just  and  liberal,  and  have  been,  with  mu 
tual  fidelity  and  reciprocal  advantage,  scrupulously  ful 
filled. 

Intestine  dissensions  have  too  frequently  occurred  to 
mar  the  prosperity,  interrupt  the  commerce,  and  distract 
the  governments  of  most  of  the  nations  of  this  hemisphere, 
which  have  separated  themselves  from  Spain.  When  a 
firm  and  permanent  understanding  with  the  parent  coun 
try  shall  have  produced  a  formal  acknowledgment  of  their 
independence,  and  the  idea,  of  danger  from  that  quarter 
can  be  no  longer  entertained,  the  friends  of  freedom  ex 
pect  that  those  countries,  so  favored  by  nature,  will  be 
distinguished  for  their  love  of  justice,  and  their  devotion 
to  those  peaceful  arts,  the  assiduous  cultivation  of  which 
confers  honor  upon  nations,  and  gives  value  to  human 
life.  In  the  meantime,  I  confidently  hope  that  the  appre 
hensions  entertained  that  some  of  the  people  of  these  lux 
uriant  regions  may  be  tempted,  in  a  moment  of  unworthy 
distrust  of  their  own  capacity  for  enjoyment  of  liberty,  to 
commit  the  too  common  error  of  purchasing  present  re 
pose  by  bestowing  on  some  favorite  leaders  the  fatal  gift 
of  irresponsible  power,  will  not  be  realized.  With  all 
these  governments,  and  with  that  of  Brazil,  no  unexpected 
changes  in  our  relations  have  occurred  during  the  present 
year.  Frequent  causes  of  just  complaint  have  arisen  up 
on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States — some 
times  from  the  irregular  action  of  the  constitutedr  subordi 
nate  authorities  of  the  maritime  regions,  and  sometimes 
from  the  leaders  or  partisans  of  those,  in  arms  against  the 
established  governments.  In  all  cases,  representations 


310  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

have  been  or  will  be  made ;  and  as  soon  as  their  political 
affairs  are  in  a  settled  position,  it  is  expected  that  our 
friendly  remonstrances  will  be  followed  by  adequate  re 
dress. 

The  government  of  Mexico  made  known  in  December 
last,  the  appointment  of  commissioners  and  surveyors  on 
its  part,  to  run,  in  conjunction  with  ours,  the  boundary 
line  between  its  territories  and  the  United  States,  and  ex 
cused  the  delay  for  the  reasons  anticipated — the  preva 
lence  of  civil  war.  The  commissioners  and  surveyors  not 
having  met  within  the  time  stipulated  by  the  treaty,  a 
new  arrangement  became  necessary,  and  our  charge  d'af 
faires  was  instructed  in  January  last,  to  negotiate  in  Mex 
ico  an  article  addtional  to  the  pre-existing  treaty.  This 
instruction  was  acknowledged,  and  no  difficulty  was  ap 
prehended  in  the  accomplishment  of  that  object.  By  in 
formation  just  received,  that  additional  article  to  the  treaty 
will  be  obtained  and  transmitted  to  this  country,  as  soon 
as  it  can  receive  the  ratification  of  the  Mexican  Congress. 

The  reunion  of  the  three  states  of  New  Grenada,  Ve 
nezuela,  and  Equador,  forming  the  republic  of  Columbia, 
seems  every  day  to  become  more  improbable.  The  com- 
missionnrs  of  the  first  two  are  understood  to  be  now  ne 
gotiating  a  just  division  of  the  obligations  contracted  by 
when  united  under  one  government.  The  civil  war  in 
Equador,  it  is  believed,  has  prevented  even  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  commissioner  on  its  part. 

I  propose,  at  an  early  day,  to  submit,  in  the  proper 
form,  the  appointment  of  a  diplomatic  agent  to  Venezue 
la;  the  importance  of  the  commerce  of  that  country  to 
the  United  States,  and  the  large  claims  of  our  citizens 
upon  the  government,  arising  before  and  since  the  division 
of  Colombia,  rendering  it,  in  my  judgment,  improper 
longer  to  delay -the  step. 

Our  representatives  to  Central  America,  Peru,  and 
Brazil,  are  either  at,  or  on  their  way,  to  their  respective 
posts. 

From  the  Argentine  republic,  from  which  a  minister 
was  expected  to  this  government,  nothing  further  has 
been  heard.  Occasion  has  been  taken,  on  the  departure 


SIXTH   ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  311 

of  a  new  consul  to  Buenos  Ayres,  to  remind  that  govern 
ment  that  its  long-delayed  minister,  whose  appointment 
has  been  made  known  to  us,  had  not  arrived. 

It  becomes  my  unpleasant  duty  to  inform  you  that  this 
specific  and  highly  gratifying  picture  of  our  foreign  rela 
tions,  does  not  include  those  with  France  at  this  time.  It 
is  not  possible  that  any  government  and  people  could  be 
more  sincerely  desirous  of  conciliating  a  just  and  friendly 
intercourse  with  another  nation,  than  are  those  of  the 
United  States,  with  their  ancient  ally  and  friend.  This 
disposition  is  founded,  as  well  on  the  most  grateful  and 
honorable  recollections  associated  with  our  struggle  for 
independence,  as  upon  a  well-grounded  conviction  that  it 
is  consonant  with  the  true  policy  of  both.  The  people  of 
the  United  States  could  not,  therefore,  see,  without  the 
deepest  regret,  even  a  temporary  interruption  of  the 
friendly  relations  between  the  two  countries — a  regret 
which  would,  I  am  sure,  be  greatly  aggravated,  if  there 
should  turn  out  to  be  any  reasonable  ground  for  attribut 
ing  such  a  result  to  any  act  of  omission  or  commission  on 
our  part  I  derive,  therefore,  the  highest  satisfaction 
from  being  able  to  assure  you  that  the  whole  course  of 
this  government  has  been  characterized  by  a  spirit  so  con 
ciliatory  and  forbearing,  as  to  make  it  impossible  that  our 
justice  and  moderation  should  be  questioned,  whatever 
may  be  the  consequences  of  a  longer  perseverance,  on  the 
part  of  the  French  government,  in  her  omission  to  satisfy 
the  conceded  claims  of  our  citizens. 

The  history  of  the  accumulated  and  unprovoked  ag 
gressions  upon  our  commerce,  committed  by  authority  of 
the  existing  governments  of  France,  between  the  years 
1800  and  1817,  has  been  rendered  too  painfully  familiar 
to  Americans  to  make  its  repetition  either  necessary  or 
desirable.  It  will  be  sufficient  here  to  remark  that  there 
has  for  many  years  been  scarcely  a  single  administration 
of  the  French  government  by  whom  the  justice  and  legal 
ity  of  the  claims  of  our  citizens  to  indemnity  were  not,  to 
a  very  considerable  extent,  admitted ;  and  yet  near  a  quar 
ter  of  a  century  has  been  wasted  in  ineffectual  negotiations 
to  secure  it. 


312  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

Deeply  sensible  of  the  injurious  effects  resulting  from 
this  state  of  things  upon  the  interests  and  character  of 
both  nations,  I  regarded  it  as  among  my  first  duties  to 
cause  one  more  effort  to  be  made  to  satisfy  France  that 
a  just  and  liberal  settlement  of  our  claims  was  as  well  due 
to  her  own  honor  as  to  their  incontestable  validity.  The 
negotiation  for  this  purpose  was  commenced  with  the  late 
government  of  France,  and  was  prosecuted  with  such  suc 
cess  as  to  leave  no  reasonable  ground  to  doubt  that  a  set 
tlement  of  a  character  quite  as  liberal  as  that  which  was 
subsequently  made,  would  have  been  effected,  had  not 
the  revolution,  by  which  the  negotiation  was  cut  off,  taken 
place.  The  discussions  were  resumed  with  the  present 
government,  and  the  result  showed  that  we  were  not 
wrong  in  supposing  that  an  event  by  which  the  two  gov 
ernments  were  made  to  approach  each  other  so  much 
nearer  in  their  political  principles,  and  by  which  the  mo 
tives  for  the  most  liberal  and  friendly  intercourse  were  so 
greatly  multiplied,  could  exercise  no  other  than  a  salutary 
influence  upon  the  negotiation.  After  the  most  deliberate 
and  thorough  examination  of  the  whole  subject,  a  treaty 
between  the  two  governments  was  concluded  and  signed 
at  Paris  on  the  4th  of  July,  1831,  by  which  it  was  stipu 
lated  that  "  the  French  government,  in  order  to  liberate 
itself  from  all  the  reclamations  preferred  against  it  by  citi 
zens  of  the  United  States  for  unlawful  seizures,  captures, 
sequestrations,  confiscations,  or  destruction  of  their  ves 
sels,  cargoes,  or  other  property,  engages  to  pay  a  sum  of 
twenty-five  millions  of  francs  to  the  United  States,  who 
shall  distribute  it  among  those  entitled,  in  the  manner  and 
according  to  the  rules  it  shall  determine ;"  and  it  was  also 
stipulated,  on  the  part  of  the  French  government,  that 
this  twenty-five  millions  of  francs  should  "  be  paid  at  Paris 
in  six  annual  instalments  of  four  millions,  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  thousand,  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  francs, 
and  sixty-six  centimes  each,  into  the  hands  of  such  person 
or  persons  as  shall  be  authorized  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States  to  receive  it."  The  first  instalment  to  be  paid 
"  at  the  expiration  of  one  year  next  following  the  exchange 
of  the  ratifications  of  this  convention,  and  the  others  at  sue- 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  813 

cessive  intervals  of  a  year,  one  after  another,  till  the  whole 
shall  be  paid.  To  the  amount  of  each  of  the  said  instal 
ments  shall  be  added  interest  at  four  per  cent  thereupon, 
as  upon  the  other  instalments  then  remaining  unpaid,  the 
said  interest  to  be  computed  from  the  day  of  the  exchange 
of  the  present  convention." 

It  was  also  stipulated,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  completely  liberated  from  all  the 
reclamations  presented  by  France  on  behalf  of  its  citizens, 
that  the  sum  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  francs 
should  be  paid  to  the  government  of  France,  in  six  annual 
instalments,  to  be  deducted  out  of  the  annual  sums  which 
France  had  agreed  to  pay,  interest  thereupon  being  in 
like  manner  computed  from  the  day  of  the  exchange  of 
the  ratifications.  In  addition  to  this  stipulation,  impor 
tant  advantages  were  secured  to  France  by  the  following 
articles,  viz :  "  The  wines  of  France,  from  and  after  the 
exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  convention, 
shall  be  admitted  to  consumption  in  the  states  of  the 
Union,  at  duties  which  shall  not  exceed  the  following  rates 
by  the  gallon  (such  as  is  used  at  present  for  wines  in  the 
United  States),  to  wit :  six  cents  for  red  wines  in  casks ; 
ten  cents  for  white  wines  in  casks ;  and  twenty -two  cents 
for  wines  of  all  sorts  in  bottles.  The  proportions  existing 
between  the  duties  on  French  wines  thus  reduced,  and 
the  general  rates  of  the  tariff  which  went  into  operation 
the  first  of  January,  1829,  shall  be  maintained  in  case 
the  government  of  the  United  States  should  think  proper 
to  diminish  those  general  rates  in  a  new  tariff. 

"  In  consideration  of  this  stipulation,  which  shall  be 
binding  on  the  United  States  for  ten  years,  the  French 
government  abandons  the  reclamations  which  it  had  form 
ed  in  relation  to  the  eighth  article  of  the  treaty  of  cession 
of  Louisiana,  It  engages,  moreover,  to  establish  on  the 
long  staple  cottons  of  the  United  States,  which,  after  the 
exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  convention, 
shall  be  brought  directly  thence  to  France  by  the  vessels 
of  the  United  States,  or  by  French  vessels,  the  same  du 
ties  as  on  short  staple  cottons." 

This  treaty  was  duly  ratified  in  the  manner  prescribed 


314  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

by  the  constitutions  of  both  countries,  and  the  ratifications 
were  exchanged  at  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  2d  of 
February,  1832.  On  account  of  its  commercial  stipula 
tions,  it  was,  within  five  days  thereafter,  laid  before  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  proceeded  to  enact 
such  laws  favorable  to  the  commerce  of  France  as  were 
necessary  to  carry  it  into  full  execution ;  and  France  has, 
from  that  period  to  the  present,  been  in  the  unrestricted 
enjoyment  of  the  valuable  privileges  that  were  thus  secu 
red  to  her.  The  faith  of  the  French  nation  having  been 
thus  solemnly  pledged,  through  its  constitutional  organ, 
for  the  liquidation  and  ultimate  payment  of  the  long-de 
ferred  claims  of  our  citizens,  as  also  for  the  adjustment  of 
other  points  of  great  and  reciprocal  benefits  to  both  coun 
tries,  and  the  United  States  Jiaving,  with  a  fidelity  and 
promptitude  by  which  their  conduct  will,  I  trust,  be 
always  characterized,  done  everything  that  was  necessary 
to  carry  the  treaty  into  full  and  fair  effect  on  their  part, 
counted,  with  the  most  perfect  confidence,  on  equal  fidelity 
and  promptitude  on  the  part  of  the  French  government. 
In  this  reasonable  expectation  we  have  been,  I  regret  to 
inform  you,  wholly  disappointed.  No  legislative  provision 
has  been  made  by  France  for  the  execution  of  the  treaty, 
either  as  it  respects  the  indemnities  to  be  paid,  or  the 
commercial  benefits  to  be  secured  to  the  United  States. 
and  the  relations  between  the  United  States  and  that 
power,  in  consequence  thereof,  are  placed  in  a  situation 
threatening  to  interrupt  the  good  understanding  which 
has  so  long  and  so  happily  existed  between  the  two  na 
tions. 

Not  only  has  the  French  government  been  thus  want 
ing  in  the  performance  of  the  stipulations  it  has  so  solemn 
ly  entered  into  with  the  United  States,  but  its  omissions 
have  been  marked  by  circumstances  which  would  seem 
to  leave  us  without  satisfactory  evidences  that  such  per 
formance  will  certainly  take  place  at  a  future  period.  Ad 
vice  of  the  exchange  of  ratifications  reached  Paris  prior  to 
the  8th  of  April,  1832.  The  French  chambers  were  then 
sitting,  and  continued  in  session  until  the  21st  of  that 
month;  and  although  one  instalment  of  the  indemnity 


SIXTH   ANNUAL   MESSAGE.  315 

was  payable  on  the  2d  of  February,  1833,  one  year  after 
the  exchange  of  ratifications,  no  application  was  made  to 
the  chambers  for  the  required  appropriation,  and,  in  con 
sequence  of  no  appropriation  having  then  been  made,  the 
draft  of  the  United  States  government  for  that  instalment 
was  dishonored  by  the  minister  of  finance,  and  the  United 
States  thereby  involved  in  much  controversy.     The  next 
session  of  the  chambers  commenced  on  the  19th  of  No 
vember,  1832,  and  continued  until  the   25th  of  April, 
1833.     Notwithstanding  the   omission  to  pay  the   first 
instalment  had  been  made  the  subject  of  earnest  remon 
strance  on  our  part,  the  treaty  with  the  United  States, 
and  a  bill  making  the  necessary  appropriations  to  execute 
it,  were  not  laid  before  the  chamber  of  deputies  until  the 
6th  of  April,  nearly  five  months  after  its  meeting,  and 
only  nineteen  days  before  the  close  of  the  session.     The 
bill  was  read  and  referred  to  a  committee,  but  there  was 
no  further  action  upon  it.     The  next  session  of  the  cham 
bers  commenced  on  the  26th  of  April  1833,  and  continued 
until  the  25th  of  June  following.     A  new  bill  was  intro 
duced  on  the  llth  of  June,  but  nothing  important  was 
done  in  relation  to  it  during  the  session.     In  the  month 
of  April,  1834,  nearly  three  years  after  the  signature  of 
the  treaty,  the  final  action  of  the  French  chambers  upon 
the  bill  to  carry  the  treaty  into  effect  was  obtained,  and 
resulted  in  a  refusal  of  the  necessary  appropriations.     The 
avowed  grounds  upon  which  the  bill  was  rejected,  are  to 
be  found  in  the  published  debates  of  that  body,  and  no 
observations  of  mine  can  be  necessary  to  satisfy  Congress 
of  their  utter  insufficiency.     Although  the  gross  amount 
of  the  claims  of  our  citizens,  is  probably  greater  than  will 
be  ultimately  allowed  by  the  commissioners,  sufficient  is, 
nevertheless,  shown,  to  render  it  absolutely  certain  that 
the  indemnity  falls  far  short  of  the  actual  amount  of  our 
just  claims,  independently  of  the  question  of  damages  and 
interest  for  the  detention.     That  the  settlement  involved 
a  sacrifice  in  this  respect  was  well  known  at  the  time — a 
sacrifice  which  was  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  by  the  differ 
ent  branches  of  the  federal  government^  whose  action 
upon  the  treaty  was  required,  from  a  sincere   desire  to 


316  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

avoid  further  collision  upon  this  old  and  disturbed  sub 
ject,  and  in  the  confident  expectation  that  the  general 
relations  between  the  two  countries  would  be  improved 
thereby. 

The  refusal  to  vote  the  appropriation,  the  news  of  which 
was  received  from  our  minister  in  Paris,  about  the  15th 
day  of  May  last,  might  have  been  considered  the  final  de 
termination  of  the  French  government  not  to  execute  the 
stipulations  of  the  treaty,  and  would  have  justified  an  im 
mediate  communication  of  the  facts  to  Congress,  with  a 
recommendation  of  such  ultimate  measures  as  the  interest 
and  honor  of  the  United  States  might  seem  to  require. 
But  with  the  news  of  the  refusal  of  the  chambers  to  make 
the  appropriation,  were  conveyed  the  regrets  of  the  king, 
and  a  declaration  that  a  national  vessel  should  be  forth 
with  sent  011$  with  instructions  to  the  French  minister  to 
give  the  most  ample  explanations  of  the  past,  and  the 
strongest  assurances  for  the  future.  After  a  long  passage, 
the  promised  despatch  vessel  arrived.  The  pledges  given 
by  the  French  minister,  upon  receipt  of  his  instructions, 
were,  that  as  soon  after  the  election  of  the  new  members 
as  the  charter  would  permit,  the  legislative  chambers  of 
France  should  be  called  together,  and  the  proposition  for 
an  appropriation  laid  before  them ;  that  all  the  constitu 
tional  powers  of  the  king  and  his  cabinet  should  be  exert 
ed  to  accomplish  the  object;  and  that  the  result  should 
be  made  known  early  enough  to  be  communicated  to 
Congress  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  session. 
Relying  upon  these  pledges,  and  not  doubting  that  the 
acknowledged  justice  of  our  claims,  the  promised  exertions 
of  the  king  and  his  cabinet,  and  above  all,  that  sacred  re 
gard  for  the  national  faith  and  honor  for  which  the  French 
character  has  been  so  distinguished,  would  secure  an  early 
execution  of  the  treaty  in  all  its  parts,  I  did  not  deem  it 
necessary  to  call  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  subject 
at  the  last  session. 

I  regret  to  say  that  the  pledges  made  through  the 
minister  of  France  have  not  been  redeemed.  The  new 
chambers  met  on  the  31st  of  July  last,  and  although  the 
subject  of  fulfilling  treaties  was  alluded  to  in  the  speech 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  31 7 

from  the  throne,  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  king  or  his 
cabinet  to  procure  an  appropriation  to  carry  it  into  execu 
tion.  The  reasons  given  for  this  omission,  although  they 
might  be  considered  sufficient  in  an  ordinary  case,  are 
not  consistent  with  the  expectations  founded  upon  the  as 
surances  given  here,  for  there  is  no  constitutional  obstacle 
to  entering  into  legislative  business  at  the  first  meeting  of 
the  chambers.  This  point,  however,  might  have  been 
overlooked,  had  not  the  chambers,  instead  of  being  called 
to  meet  at  so  early  a  day  that  the  result  of  their  delibera 
tions  might  be  communicated  to  me  before  the  meeting 
of  Congress,  been  prorogued  to  the  29th  of  the  present 
month — a  period  so  late  that  their  decision  can  scarcely 
be  made  known  to  the  present  Congress  prior  to  its  dis 
solution.  To  avoid  this  delay,  our  minister  in  Paris,  in 
virtue  of  the  assurance  given  by  the  French  minister  in 
the  United  States,  strongly  urged  the  convocation  of  the 
chambers  at  an  earlier  day,  but  without  success.  It  is 
proper  to  remark,  however,  that  this  refusal  has  been  ac 
companied  with  the  most  positive  assurances,  on  the  part 
of  the  executive  government  of  France,  of  their  intention 
to  press  the  appropriation  at  the  ensuing  session  of  the 
chambers. 

The  executive  branch  of  this  government  has,  as  mat 
ters  stand,  exhausted  all  the  authority  upon  the  subject 
with  which  it  is  invested,  and  which  it  had  any  reason  to 
believe  could  be  beneficially  employed. 

The  idea  of  acquiescing  in  the  refusal  to  execute  the 
treaty  will  not,  I  am  confident,  be  for  a  moment  enter 
tained  by  any  branch  of  this  government  ;  and  further 
negotiation  upon  the  subject  is  equally  out  of  the  ques 
tion. 

If  it  shall  be  the  pleasure  of  Congress  to  await  the  fur 
ther  action  of  the  French  chambers,  no  further  considera 
tion  of  the  subject  will,  at  this  session,  probably  be  requi 
red  at  your  hands.  But  if,  from  the  original  delay  in  ask 
ing  for  an  appropriation ;  from  the  refusal  of  the  cham 
bers  to  grant  it  when  asked ;  from  the  omission  to  bring 
the  subject  before  the  chambers  at  their  last  session ;  from 
the  fact  that,  including  that  session,  there  hare  been  five 


318  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

different  occasions  when  the  appropriation  might  have 
been  made ;  and  from  the  delay  in  convoking  the  cham 
bers  until  some  weeks  after  the  meeting  of  Congress, 
when  it  was  well  known  that  a  communication  of  the 
whole  subject  to  Congress  at  the  last  session  was  prevent 
ed  by  assurances  that  it  should  be  disposed  of  before  its 
present  meeting,  you  should  feel  yourselves  constrained 
to  doubt  whether  it  be  the  intention  of  the  French  gov 
ernment,  in  all  its  branches,  to  carry  the  treaty  into  effect, 
and  think  that  such  measures  as  the  occasion  may  be 
deemed  to  call  for,  should  be  now  adopted,  the  important 
question  arises,  what  those  measures  shall  be. 

Our  institutions  are  essentially  pacific.  Peace  and 
friendly  intercourse  with  all  nations  are  as  much  the  de 
sire  of  our  government  as  they  are  the  interest  of  our 
people.  But  these  objects  are  not  to  be  permanently  se 
cured,  by  surrendering  the  rights  of  our  citizens,  or  per 
mitting  solemn  treaties  for  their  indemnity,  in  cases  of  fla 
grant  wrong,  to  be  abrogated  or  set  aside. 

It  is  undoubtedly  in  the  power  of  Congress'  seriously 
to  affect  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  interests  of 
France,  by  the  passage  of  laws  relating  to  her  trade  with 
the  United  States.  Her  products,  manufactures,  and  ton 
nage,  may  be  subjected  to  heavy  duties  in  our  ports,  or 
all  commercial  intercourse  with  her  may  be  suspended. 
But  there  are  powerful,  and  to  my  mind  conclusive  ob 
jections  to  this  mode  of  proceeding.  We  can  not  embar 
rass  or  cut  off  the  trade  of  France,  without  at  the  same 
time,  in  some  degree,  embarrassing  or  cutting  off  our  own 
trade.  The  injury  of  such  a  warfare  must  fall,  though 
unequally,  upon  our  own  citizens,  and  could  not  but  im 
pair  the  means  of  the  government,  and  weaken  that  uni 
ted  sentiment  in  support  of  the  rights  and  honor  of  the 
nation  which  must  now  pervade  every  bosom.  Nor  is  it 
impossible  that  such  a  course  of  legislation  would  intro 
duce  once  more  into  our  national  councils  those  disturb 
ing  questions  in  relation  to  the  tariff  of  duties  which  hr<ve 
been  so  recently  put  to  rest  Besides,  by  every  measure 
adopted  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  with 
the  view  of  injuring  France,  the  clear  perception  of  ri^ht 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  319 

which  will  induce  our  own  people,  and  the  rulers  and 
people  of  all  other  nations,  even  of  France  herself,  to  pro 
nounce  our  quarrel  just,  will  be  obscured,  and  the  support 
rendered  to  us,  in  a  final  resort  to  more  decisive  measures, 
will  be  more  limited  and  equivocal.  There  is  but  one 
point  in  the  controversy,  and  upon  that,  the  whole  civi 
lized  world  must  pronounce  France  to  be  in  the  wrong. 
We  insist  that  she  shall  pay  us  a  sum  of  money,  which 
she  has  acknowledged  to  be  due ;  and  of  the  justice  of 
this  demand  there  can  be  but  one  opinion  among  man 
kind.  True  policy  would  seem  to  dictate  the  question  at 
issue  should  be  kept  thus  disencumbered,  and  that  not 
the  slightest  pretence  should  be  given  to  France  to  per 
sist  in  her  refusal  to  make  payment,  by  any  act  on  our 
part  affecting  the  interests  of  her  people.  The  question 
should  be  left  as  it  is  now,  in  such  an  attitude  that,  when 
France  fulfils  her  treaty  stipulations,  all  controversy  will 
be  at  an  end. 

It  is  my  conviction  that  the  United  States  ought  to  in 
sist  on  a  prompt  execution  of  the  treaty,  and  in  case  it  be 
refused,  or  longer  delayed,  take  redress  into  their  own 
hands.  After  the  delay  on  the  part  of  France,  of  a  quar 
ter  of  a  century,  in  acknowledging-  these  claims  by  treaty, 
it  is  not  to  be  tolerated  that  another  quarter  of  a  century 
is  to  be  wasted  in  negotiating  about  the  payment  The 
laws  of  nations  provide  a  remedy  for  such  occasions.  It 
is  a  well-settled  principle  of  the  international  code,  that 
where  one  nation  owes  another  a  liquidated  debt,  which 
it  refuses  or  neglects  to  pay,  the  aggrieved  party  may 
seize  on  the  property  belonging  to  the  other,  its  citizens 
or  subjects,  sufficient  to  pay  the  debt,  without  giving  just 
cause  of  war.  This  remedy  has  been  repeatedly  resorted 
to,  and  recently  by  France  herself  toward  Portugal,  un 
der  circumstances  less  "unquestionable. 

The  time  at  which  resort  should  be  had  to  this,  or  any 
other  mode  of  redress,  is  a  point  to  be  decided  by  Con 
gress.  If  an  appropriation  shall  not  be  made  by  the 
French  chambers  at  their  next  session,  it  may  justly  be 
concluded  that  the  government  of  France  has  finally  de 
termined  to  disregard  its  own  solemn  undertaking,  and 


320  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

refuse  to  pay  an  acknowledged  debt.  In  that  event,  every 
day's  delay  on  our  part  will  be  a  stain  upon  our  national 
honor,  as  well  as  a  denial  of  justice  to  our  injured  citizens. 
Prompt  measures,  when  the  refusal  of  France  shall  be 
complete,  will  not  only  be  most  honorable  and  just,  but 
will  have  the  best  effect  upon  our  national  character. 

Since  France,  in  violation  of  the  pledges  given  through 
her  minister  here,  has  delayed  her  final  action  so  long- 
that  her  decision  will  not  probably  be  known  in  time  to 
be  communicated  to  this  Congress,  I  recommend  that  a 
law  be  passed  authorizing  reprisals  upon  French  property, 
in  case  provision  shall  not  be  made  for  the  payment  of  the 
debt  at  the  approaching  session  of  the  French  chambers. 
Such  a  measure  ought  not  to  be  considered  by  France  as 
a  menace.  Her  pride  and  power  are  too  well  known  to 
expect  any  thing  from  her  fears,  and  preclude  the  neces 
sity  of  a  declaration  that  nothing  partaking  of  the  charac 
ter  of  intimidation  is  intended  by  us.  She  ought  to  look 
upon  it  only  as  the  evidence  of  an  inflexible  determination 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  insist  on  their  rights. 
That  government,  by  doing  only  what  it  has  itself  acknow 
ledged  to  be  just,  will  be  able  to  spare  the  United  States 
the  necessity  of  taking  redress  into  their  own  hands,  and 
save  the  property  of  French  citizens  from  that  seizure  and 
sequestration  which  American  citizens  so  long  endured 
without  retaliation  or  redress.  If  she  should  continue  to 
refuse  that  acknowledged  justice,  and,  in  violation  of  the 
law  of  nations,  make  reprisals  on  our  part  the  occasion  of 
hostilities  against  the  United  States,  she  would  but  add 
violence  to  injustice,  and  could  not  fail  to  expose  herself 
to  the  just  censure  of  civilized  nations,  and  to  the  retribu 
tive  judgments  of  Heaven. 

Collision  with  France  is  the  more  to  be  regretted,  on 
account  of  the  position  she  occupies  in  Europe  in  relation 
to  liberal  institutions.  But,  in  maintaining  our  national 
rights  and  honor,  all  governments  are  alike  to  us.  If,  by 
a  collision,  in  a  case  where  she  is  clearly  in  the  wrong, 
the  march  of  liberal  principles  shall  be  impeded,  the  re 
sponsibility  for  that  result,  as  well  as  every  other,  will 
rest  on  her  own  head. 


SIXTH   ANNUAL   MESSAGE.  321 

Having  submitted  these  considerations,  it  belongs  to 
Congress  to  decide  whether,  after  what  has  taken  place, 
it  will  still  await  the  further  action  of  the  French  cham 
bers,  or  now  adopt  such  provisional  measures  as  it  may 
deem  necessary,  and  best  adapted  to  protect  the  rights 
and  maintain  the  honor  of  the  country.  Whatever  that 
decision  may  be,  it  will  be  faithfully  enforced  by  the  exe 
cutive,  as  far  as  he  is  authorized  so  to  do. 

According  to  the  estimates  of  the  treasury  department, 
the  revenue  accruing  from  all  sources,  during  the  present 
year,  will  amount  to  twenty  millions  six  hundred  and 
twenty-four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventeen  dol 
lars,  which,  with  the  balance  remaining  in  the  treasury 
on  the  1st  of  January  last,  eleven  millions  seven  hundred 
and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  five  dollars,  produces 
an  aggregate  of  thirty-two  millions  three  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-three  dol 
lars.  The  total  expenditure  during  the  year  for  all  ob 
jects,  including  the  public  debt,  is  estimated  at  twenty-five 
millions  five  hundred  and  ninety-one  thousand  three  hun 
dred  and  ninety  dollars,  which  will  leave  a  balance  in  the 
treasury  on  the  1st  of  January,  1835,  of  six  millions  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  dollars.  In  this  balance,  however,  will  be  included 
about  one  million  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
of  what  was  heretofore  reported  by  the  department  as  not 
effective. 

Of  former  appropriations  it  is  estimated  that  there  will 
remain  unexpended  at  the  close  of  the  year,  eight  millions 
and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars, 
and  that  of  this  sum  there  will  not  be  required  more  than 
five  millions  one  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-four  dollars,  to  accomplish  the  objects 
of  all  the  current  appropriations.  Thus  it  appears  that, 
after  satisfying  all  those  appropriations,  and  after  discharg 
ing  the  last  item  of  our  public  debt,  which  will  be  done 
on  the  1st  of  January  next,  there  will  remain  unexpended 
in  the  treasury  an  effective  balance  of  about  four  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  dollars.  That  such  should  be  the  as 
pect  of  our  finances,  is  highly  flattering  to  the  industry 


322  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

and  enterprise  of  our  population,  and  auspicious  of  the 
wealth  and  prosperity  which  await  the  future  cultivation 
of  their  growing  resources.  It  is  not  deemed  prudent, 
however,  to  recommend  any  change  for  the  present  in  our 
impost  rates,  the  effect  of  the  gradual  reduction  now  in 
progress  in  many  of  them  not  being  sufficiently  tested  to 
guide  us  in  determining  the  precise  amount  of  revenue 
which  they  will  produce. 

Free  from  public  debt,  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  and 
with  no  complicated  interest  to  consult  in  our  intercourse 
with  foreign  powers,  the  present  may  be  hailed  as  that 
epoch  in  our  history  the  most  favorable  for  the  settlement 
of  those  principles  in  our  domestic  policy  which  shall  be 
best  calculated  to  give  stability  to  our  republic,  and  secure 
the  blessings  of  freedom  to  our  citizens.  Among  these 
principles,  from  our  past  experience  it  can  not  be  doubted 
that  simplicity  in  the  character  of  the  federal  government, 
and  a  rigid  economy  in  its  administration,  should  be  re 
garded  as  fundamental  and  sacred.  All  must  be  sensible 
that  the  existence  of  the  public  debt,  by  rendering  taxa 
tion  necessary  for  its  extinguishment,  has  increased  the 
difficulties  which  are  inseparable  from  every  exercise  of 
the  taxing  power ;  and  that  it  was,  in  this  respect,  a  re 
mote  agent  in  producing  those  disturbing  questions  which 
grew  out  of  the  discussions  relating  to  the  tariff.  If  such 
has  been  the  tendency  of  a  debt  incurred  in  the  acquisi 
tion  and  maintenance  of  our  national  rights  and  liberties, 
the  obligations  of  which  all  portions  of  the  Union  cheer 
fully  acknowledged,  it  must  be  obvious  that  whatever  is 
calculated  to  increase  the  burdens  of  government  without 
necessity,  must  be  fatal  to  all  our  hopes  of  preserving  its 
true  character.  While  we  are  felicitating  ourselves,  there 
fore,  upon  the  extinguishment  of  the  national  debt,  and 
the  prosperous  state  of  our  finances,  let  us  not  be  tempted 
to  depart  from  those  sound  maxims  of  public  policy,  which 
enjoin  a  just  adaptation  of  the  revenue  to  the  expenditures 
that  are  consistent  with  a  rigid  economy,  and  an  entire 
abstinence  from  all  topics  of  legislation  that  are  not  clear 
ly  \Hthin  the  constitutional  powers  of  the  government,  and 
suggested  by  the  wants  of  the  country.  Properly  regard- 


SIXTH   ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  323 

ed  under  such  a  policy,  every  diminution  of  the  public 
burdens,  arising  from  taxation,  gives  to  individual  enter 
prise  increased  power,  and  furnishes  to  all  the  members 
of  our  happy  confederacy  new  motives  for  patriotic  affec 
tion  and  support  But,  above  all,  its  most  important 
effect  will  be  found  in  its  influence  upon  the  character  of 
the  government,  by  confining  its  action  to  those  objects 
which  will  be  sure  to  secure  to  it  the  attachment  and  sup 
port  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

Circumstances  make  it  my  duty  to  "call  the  attention  of 
Congress  to  the  bank  of  the  United  States.  Created  for 
the  convenience  of  the  government,  that  institution  has 
become  the  scourge  of  the  people.  Its  interference  to 
postpone  the  payment  of  a  portion  of  the  national  debt, 
that  it  might  retain  the  public  money  appropriated  for 
that  purpose,  to  strengthen  it  in  a  political  contest ;  the 
extraordinary  extension  and  contraction  of  its  accommo 
dations  to  the  community ;  its  corrupt  and  partisan  loans ; 
its  exclusion  of  the  public  directors  from  a  knowledge  of 
its  most  important  proceedings ;  the  unlimited  authority 
conferred  on  the  president  to  expend  its  funds  in  hiring 
writers,  and  procuring  the  execution  of  printing,  and  the 
use  made  of  that  authority ;  the  retention  of  the  pension 
money  and  books  after  the  selection  of  new  agents ;  the 
groundless  claim  to  heavy  damages,  in  consequence  of  the 
protest  of  the  bill  drawn  on  the  French  government,  have, 
through  various  channels,  been  laid  before  Congress.  Im 
mediately  after  the  close  of  the  last  session,  the  bank, 
through  its  president,  announced  its  ability  and  readiness 
to  abandon  the  system  of  unparalleled  curtailment,  and 
the  interruption  of  domestic  exchanges,  which  it  had  prac 
tised  upon  from  the  1st  of  August  1833,  to  the  30th  of 
June,  1834,  and  to  extend  its  accommodations  to  the  com 
munity.  The  grounds  assumed  in  this  renunciation 
amounted  to  an  acknowledgment  that  the  curtailment,  in 
the  extent  to  which  it  had  been  carried,  was  not  necessa 
ry  to  the  safety  of  the  bank,  and  had  been  persisted  in 
merely  to  induce  Congress  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the 
bank  in  its  memorial  relative  to  the  removal  of  the  depo- 
sites,  and  to  give  it  a  new  charter.  They  were  substan- 


324  LIVE    OF    JACKSON. 

tially  a  confession  that  all  the  real  distresses  which  indi 
viduals  and  the  country  had  endured  for  the  preceding- 
six  or  eight  months  had  been  needlessly  produced  by  it, 
with  the  view  of  affecting,  through  the  sufferings  of  the 
people,  the  legislative  action  of  Congress.  It  is  a  subject 
of  congratulation  that  Congress  and  the  country  had  the 
virtue  and  firmness  to  bear  the  affliction ;  that  the  ener 
gies  of  our  people  soon  found  relief  from  this  wanton  tyr- 
ranny,  in  vast  importations  of  the  precious  metals  from 
almost  every  part  of* the  world:  and  that,  at  the  close  of 
this  tremendous  effort  to  control  our  government,  the 
bank  found  itself  powerless,  and  no  longer  able  to  loan  out 
its  surplus  means.  The  community  had  learned  to  man 
age  its  affairs  without  its  assistance,  and  trade  had  already 
found  new  auxiliaries;  so  that,  on  the  1st  of  October  last, 
the  extraordinary  spectacle  was  presented  of  a  national 
bank,  more  than  one  half  of  whose  capital  was  either  lying 
unproductive  in  its  raults,  or  in  the  hands  of  foreign  bank 
ers. 

To  the  needless  distresses  brought  on  the  country  dur 
ing  the  last  session  of  Congress  has  since  been  added  the 
open  seizure  of  the  dividends  on  the  public  stock,  to  the 
amount  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  and  forty- 
one  dollars,  under  pretence  of  paying  damages,  cost,  and 
interest,  upon  the  protested  French  bill.  This  sum  con 
stituted  a  portion  of  the  estimated  revenues  for  the  year 
1834,  upon  which  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress 
were  based.  It  would  as  soon  have  been  expected  that 
our  collectors  would  seize  on  the  customs,  or  the  receivers 
of  our  land  offices  on  the  moneys  arising  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands,  under  pretenc.es  of  claims  against  the  United 
States,  as  that  the  bank  would  have  retained  the  divi 
dends.  Indeed,  if  the  principle  be  established  that  any 
one  who  chooses  to  set  up  a  claim  against  the  United 
States  may,  without  authority  of  law,  seize  on  the  public 
property  or  money  wherever  he  can  find  it,  to  pay  the 
claim,  there  will  remain  no  assurance  that  our  revenue 
will  reach  the  treasury,  or  that  it  will  be  applied  after  the 
appropriation  to  the  purposes  designated  in  the  law.  The 
paymasters  of  our  army  and  the  parsers  of  our  navy,  may, 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  325 

under  like  pretences,  apply  to  their  own  use  moneys  ap 
propriated  to  set  in  motion  the  public  force,  and  in  time 
of  war  leave  the  country  without  defence.  This  measure 
resorted  to  by  the  bank  is  disorganizing  and  revolutiona 
ry,  and,  if  generally  resorted  to  by  private  citizens  in  like 
cases,  would  fill  the  land  with  anarchy  and  violence. 

It  is  a  constitutional  provision,  that  "  no  money  shall  be 
drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  consequence  of  appropri 
ations  made  by  law."  The  palpable  object  of  this  provi 
sion  is  to  prevent  the  expenditure  of  the  public  money 
for  any  purpose  whatsoever,  which  shall  not  have  been 
first  approved  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  and 
the  states  in  Congress  assembled.  It  vests  the  power  of 
declaring  for  what  purpose  the  public  money  shall  be  ex 
pended  in  the  legislative  department  of  the  government, 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  executive  and  judicial,  and  it  is  not 
within  the  constitutional  authority  of  either  of  those  de 
partments  to  pay  it  away  without  law,  or  to  sanction  its 
payment.  According  to  this  plain  constitutional  provi 
sion,  the  claim  of  the  bank  can  never  be  paid  without  an 
appropriation  by  act  of  Congress.  But  the  bank  has 
never  asked  for  an  appropriation.  It  attempts  to  defeat 
the  provisions  of  the  constitution,  and  obtain  payment 
without  an  act  of  Congress.  Instead  of  awaiting  an  ap 
propriation  passed  by  both  houses,  and  approved  by  the 
president,  it  makes  an  appropriation  for  itself,  and  invites 
an  appeal  to  the  judiciary  to  sanction  it  That  the  money 
has  not  technically  been  paid  into  the  treasury,  does  not 
affect  the  principle  intended  to  be  established  by  the  con 
stitution.  The  executive  and  judiciary  have  as  little  right 
to  appropriate  and  expend  the  public  money  without  au 
thority  or  law,  before  it  is  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  trea 
surer,  as  to  take  it  from  the  treasury.  In  the  annual 
report  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  and  in  his  corre 
spondence  with  the  president  of  the  bank,  and  the  opi 
nion  of  the  attorney-general  accompanying  it,  you  will 
find  a  further  examination  of  the  claim  of  the  bank,  and 
Oie  course  it  has  pursued. 

It  seems  due  to  the  safety  of  the  public  funds  remain 
ing  in  that  bank,  and  to  the  honor  of  the  American  peo- 


326  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

pie,  that  measures  be  taken  to  separate  the  government 
entirely  from  an  institution  so  mischievous  to  the  public 
prosperity,  and  so  regardless  of  the  constitution  and  laws. 
By  transferring  the  public  deposites,  by  appointing  other 
pension  agents,  as  far  as  it  had  the  power,  by  ordering 
the  discontinuance  of  the  receipt  of  bank  checks  in  pay 
ment  of  the  public  dues  after  the  first  day  of  January 
next,  the  executive  has  exerted  all  its  lawful  authority  to 
sever  the  connexion  between  the  government  and  this 
faithless  corporation. 

The  high-handed  career  of  this  institution  imposes  upon 
the  constitutional  functionaries  of  this  government,  duties 
of  the  gravest  and  most  imperative  character — duties 
which  they  can  not  avoid,  and  from  which  I  trust  there 
will  be  no  inclination  on  the  part  of  any  of  them  to  shrink. 
My  own  sense  of  them  is  most  clear,  as  is  also  my  readi 
ness  to  discharge  those  which  may  rightfully  fall  on  me. 
To  continue  any  business  relations  with  the  bank  of  the 
United  States,  that  may  be  avoided  without  a  violation  of 
the  national  faith,  after  that  institution  has  set  at  open 
defiance  the  conceded  right  of  the  government  to  examine 
its  affairs;  after  it  has  done  all  in  its  power  to  deride  the 
public  authority  in  other  respects,  and  to.  bring  it  into 
disrepute  at  home  and  abroad ;  after  it  has  attempted  to 
defeat  the  clearly  expressed  will  of  the  people,  by  turning 
against  them  the  immense  power  intrusted  to  its  hands, 
and  by  involving  a  country  otherwise  peaceful,  flourish 
ing,  and  happy,  in  dissension,  embarrassment,  and  dis 
tress  ;  Avould  make  the  nation  itself  a  party  to  the  degra 
dation  so  sedulously  prepared  for  its  public  agents,  and  do 
much  to  destroy  the  confidence  of  mankind  in  popular 
governments,  and  to  bring  into  contempt  their  authority 
and  efficiency.  In  guarding  against  an  evil  of  such  mag 
nitude,  considerations  of  temporary  convenience  should 
be  thrown  out  of  the  question,  and  we  should  be  influ 
enced  by  such  motives  only  as  look  to  the  honor  and  pre 
servation  of  the  republican  system.  Deeply  and  solemnly 
impressed  with  the  justice  of  these  views,  I  feel  it  to  be 
my  duty  to  recommend  to  you  that  a  law  be  passed  au 
thorizing  the  sale  of  the  public  stock:  that  the  provisions 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  327 

of  the  charter  requiring  the  receipt  of  notes  of  the  bank 
in  payment  of  public  dues,  shall,  in  accordance  with  the 
power  reserved  to  Congress  in  the  14th  section  of  the 
charter,  be  suspended  until  the  bank  pays  to  the  treasury 
the  dividends  withheld;  and  that  all  laws,  connecting  the 
government  or  its  officers  with  the  bank,  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  be  repealed ;  and  that  the  institution  be  left  here 
after  to  its  own  resources  and  means. 

Events  have  satisfied  my  mind,  and  I  think  the  minds 
of  the  American  people,  that  the  mischiefs  and  dangers 
which  flow  from  a  national  bank  far  overbalance  all  its 
advantages.  The  bold  effort  the  present  bank  has  made 
to  control  the  government,  the  distresses  it  has  wantonly 
produced,  the  violence  of  which  it  has  been  the  occasion 
in  one  of  our  cities  famed  for  the  observance  of  law  and 
order,  are  but  premonitions  of  the  fate  which  awaits  the 
American  people,  should  they  be  deluded  into  a  perpetua 
tion  of  this  institution,  or  the  establishment  of  another  like 
it.  It  is  fervently  hoped  that,  thus  admonished,  those 
who  have  heretofore  favored  the  establishment  of  a  sub 
stitute  for  the  present  bank,  will  be  induced  to  abandon 
it,  as  it  is  evidently  better  to  incur  any  inconvenience  that 
may  be  reasonably  expected,  than  to  concentrate  the 
whole  moneyed  power  of  the  republic,  in  any  form  what 
soever,  under  any  restrictions. 

Happily,  it  is  already  illustrated  that  the  agency  of  such 
an  institution  is  not  necessary  to  the  fiscal  operations  of 
the  government.  The  state  banks  are  found  fully  ade 
quate  to  the  performance  of  all  services  wrhich  were  re 
quired  of  the  bank  of  the  United  States,  quite  as  promptly 
and  with  the  same  cheapness.  They  have  maintained 
themselves,  and  discharged  all  these  duties,  while  the 
bank  of  the  United  States  was  still  powerful,  and  in  the 
field  as  an  open  enemy;  and  it  is  not  possible  to  perceive 
that  they  will  find  greater  difficulties  in  their  operations 
when  that  enemy  shall  cease  to  exist. 

The  attention  of  Congress  is  earnestly  invited  to  the 
regulation  of  the  deposites  in  the  state  banks  by  law.  Al 
though  the  power  now  exercised  by  the  executive  depart- 


328  .      LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

ment  in  this  behalf,  is  only  such  as  was  uniformly  exerted 
through  every  administration,  from  the  origin  of  the  gov 
ernment  up  to  the  establishment  of  the  present  bank,  yet 
it  is  one  whioji  is  susceptible  of  regulation  by  law,  and 
therefore  ought  so  to  be  regulated.  The  power  of  Con 
gress  to  direct  in  what  places  the  treasurer  shall  keep  the 
moneys  in  the  treasury,  and  to  impose  restrictions  upon 
the  executive  authority  in  relation  to  their  custody  and 
removal,  is  unlimited,  and  its  exercise  will  rather  be  court 
ed  than  discouraged  by  those  public  officers  and  agents 
on  Avhom  rests  the  responsibility  for  their  safety.  It  is 
desirable  that  as  little  power  as  possible  should  be  left  to 
the  president  or  secretary  of  the  treasury  over  those  insti 
tutions  which,  being  thus  freed  from  executive  influence, 
and  without  a  common  head  to  direct  their  operations, 
would  have  neither  the  temptation  nor  the  ability  to  inter 
fere  in  the  political  conflicts  of  the  country.  JSTot  deriving 
their  charters  from  the  national  authorities,  they  would 
never  have  those  inducements  to  meddle  in  general  elec 
tions  Avhich  have  led  the  bank  of  the  United  States  to 
agitate  and  convulse  the  country  for  upward  of  two  years. 

The  progress  of  our  gold  coinage  is  creditable  to  the 
officers  of  the  mint,  and  promises  in  a  short  period  to  fur 
nish  the  country  with  a  sound  and  portable  currency, 
which  will  much  diminish  the  inconvenience  to  travellers 
of  the  want  of  a  general  paper  currency,  should  the  state 
banks  be  incapable  of  furnishing  it.  Those  institutions 
have  already  shown  themselves  competent  to  purchase 
and  furnish  domestic  exchange  for  the  convenience  of 
trade,  at  reasonable  rates,  and  not  a  doubt  is  entertained 
that  in  a  short  period,  all  the  wants  of  the  country,  in  bank 
accommodations  and  in  exchange,  will  be  supplied  as 
promptly  and  cheaply  as  they  have  heretofore  been  by 
the  bank  of  the  United  States.  If  the  several  states  shall 
be  induced  gradually  to  reform  their  banking  systems, 
and  prohibit  the  issue  of  all  small  notes,  we  shall,  in  a  few 
years,  have  a  currency  as  sound,  and  as  little  liable  to 
fluctuations,  as  any  other  commercial  country. 

The  report  of  the  secretary  of  war,  together  with  ac- 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  329 

companying  documents  from  the  several  bureaus  of  that 
department  will  exhibit  the  situation  of  the  various  objects 
committed  to  its  administration. 

No  event  has  occurred  since  your  last  session,  render 
ing  necessary  any  movements  of  the  army,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  expedition  of  the  regiment  of  dragoons  into 
the  territory  of  the  wandering  and  predatory  tribes  inha 
biting-  the  western  frontier,  and  living  adjacent  to  the 
Mexican  boundary.  These  tribes  have  been  heretofore 
known  to  us  principally  by  their  attacks  upon  our  own 
citizens,  and  upon  other  Indians  entitled  to  the  protection 
of  the  United  States.  It  became  necessary  for  the  peace 
of  the  frontiers,  to  check  these  habitual  inroads,  and  I  am 
happy  to  inform  you  that  the  object  has  been  effected 
without  the  commission  of  any  act  of  hostility.  Colonel 
Dodge,  and  the  troops  under  his  command,  have  acted 
with  equal  firmness  and  humanity,  and  an  arrangement 
has  been  made  with  those  Indians,  which  it  is  hoped  will 
insure  their  permanent  pacific  relations  with  the  United 
States,  and  the  other  tribes  of  Indians  upon  that  border. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  prevalence  of  sickness  in 
that  quarter  has  deprived  the  country  of  a  number  of  va 
luable  lives,  and  particularly  thai  of  General  Leavenworth, 
an  officer  well  known  and  esteemed  for  his  gallant  servi 
ces  during  the  late  war,  and  for  subsequent  good  conduct, 
who  has  fallen  a  victim  to  his  zeal  and  exertions  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty. 

The  army  is  in  a  high  state  of  discipline.  Its  moral 
condition,  so  far  as  that  is  known  here,  is  good,  and  the 
various  branches  of  the  public  service  are  carefully  attend 
ed  to.  It  is  amply  sufficient,  under  its  present  organiza 
tion,  for  providing  the  necessary  garrisons  for  the  sea 
board,  and  for  the  defence  of  the  internal  frontier,  and 
also  for  preserving  the  elements  of  military  knowledge, 
and  for  keeping  pace  with  those  improvements  which 
modern  experience  is  continually  making.  And  these  ob 
jects  appear  to  me  to  embrace  all  the  legitimate  purposes 
for  which  a  permanent  military  force  should  be  maintain 
ed  in  our  country.  The  lessons  of  history  teach  us  its 
danger,  and  the  tendency  which  exists  to  an  increase. 


330  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

This  can  be  best  met  and  averted  by  a  just  caution  or 
the  part  of  the  public  itself,  and  of  those  who  represent 
them  in  Congress. 

From  the  duties  which  devolve  on  the  engineer  depart 
ment,  and  upon  the  topographical  engineers,  a  different 
organization  seems  to  be  demanded  by  the  public  inte 
rest,  and  I  recommend  the  subject  to  your  consideration. 
No  important  change   has,   during  this  season,  taken 
place  in  the  condition  of  the  Indians.     Arrangements  arc 
in  progress  for  the  removal  of  the  Creeks,   and  will  soon 
be  for  the  removal  of  the  Seminolcs.     I  regret  that  the 
Cherokees  east  of  the  Mississippi  have  not  yet  determined 
as  a  community  to  remove.     How  long  the  personal  cau  • 
ses  which  have  hitherto  retarded  that  ultimately  inevita 
ble  measure  will  continue  to  operate,  I  am  unable  to  con 
jecture.     It  is  certain,  however,  that  delay  will  bring  with 
it  accumulated    evils,  which  will    render  their  condition 
more   and  more  unpleasant.     The   experience  of  every 
year  adds  to  the   conviction  that  emigration,   and  tha, 
alone,  can  preserve  from  destruction  the  remnant  of  tribes 
yet  living  among  us.     The   facility  with  which  the  neces 
saries  of  life  are  procured,  and  the  treaty  stipulations  pro 
viding  aid  for  the  emigrant  Indians  in  their  agricultural 
pursuits  and  in  the  important  concern  of  education,  and 
their  removal  from  those  causes  which  have  heretofore 
depressed  all,  and  destroyed  many  of  the  tribes,  can  not 
fail  to  stimulate  their  exertions,  and  to  reward  their  indus- 
try. 

The  two  laws  passed  at  the  last  session  of  Congress 
on  the  subject  of  Indian  affairs,  have  been  carried  into 
effect,  and  detailed  instructions  for  their  administration 
have  been  given.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  estimates  for 
the  present  session,  that  a  great  reduction  will  take  place, 
in  the  expenditures  of  the  department  in  consequence  of 
these  laws,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  their  ope 
ration  will  be  salutary,  and  that  the  colonization  of  the 
Indian  on  the  western  frontier,  together  with  a  judicious 
system  of  administration,  will  still  further  reduce  the  ex 
penses  of  this  branch  of  the  public  service,  and  at  the 
same  time  promote  its  usefulness  and  efficiency. 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  831 

Circumstances  have  been  recently  developed,  showing 
the  existence  of  extensive  frauds  under  the  various  laws 
granting  pensions  and  gratuities  for  revolutionary  services. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  amount  which  may  have 
been  thus  fraudulently  obtained  from  the  national  treasu 
ry.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  that  it  has  been  such  as  to 
justify  a  re-examination  of  the  system,  and  the  adoption 
of  the  necessary  checks  in  its  administration.  All  will 
agre.-  that  the  services  and  sufferings  of  the  remnant  of 
our  revolutionary  band  should  be  fully  compensated ;  but 
while  this  is  done,  every  proper  precaution  should  be 
taken  to  prevent  the  admission  of  fabricated  and  fraudu 
lent  claims.  In  the  present  mode  of  proceeding,  the  at 
testations  and  certificates  of  judicial  officers  of  the  various 
states  form  a  considerable  portion  of  the  checks  which  are 
interposed  against  the  commission  of  frauds.  These,  how 
ever,  have  been  and  may  be  fabricated,  and  in  such  a 
way  as  to  elude  detection  at  the  examining  offices;  and 
independently  of  this  practical  difficulty,  it  is  ascertained 
that  these  documents  are  often  loosely  granted;  some 
times  even  blank  certificates  have  been  issued ;  sometimes 
prepared  papers  have  been  signed  without  inquiry;  and 
in  one  instance,  at  least,  the  seal  of  the  court  has  been 
within  reach  of  a  person  most  interested  in  its  improper 
application.  It  is  obvious  that  under  such  circumstances, 
no  severity  of  administration  can  check  the  abuse  of  the 
law ;  and  information  has  from  time  to  time  been  commu 
nicated  to  the  pension  office,  questioning  or  denying  the 
right  of  persons  placed  upon  the  pension  list  to  the  bounty 
of  the  country.  Such  cautions  are  always  attended  to, 
and  examined,  but  a  far  more  general  investigation  is 
called  for ;  and  I  therefore  recommend,  in  conformity  with 
the  suggestion  of  the  secretary  of  war,  that  an  actual 
inspection  should  be  made  in  each  state,  into  the  circum 
stances  and  claims  of  every  person  now  drawing  a  pension. 
The  honest  veteran  has  nothing  to  fear  from  such  a  scru 
tiny,  while  the  fraudulent  claimant  will  be  detected,  and 
the  public  treasury  relieved  to  an  amount,  I  have  reason 
to  believe,  far  greater  than  has  heretofore  been  suspected. 
The  details  of  such  a  plan  could  be  so  regulated  as  to 
15 


332  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

interpose  the  necessary  checks  without  any  burdensome 
operation  upon  the  pensioners.  The  object  should  be 
twofold : — 

1.  To  look  into  the  original  justice  of  the  claims,  so  far 
as  this  can  be  done  under  a  proper  system  of  regulations, 
by  an  examination  of  the  claimants  themselves,  and  by 
inquiring  in  the  vicinity  of  their  residence  into  their  his 
tory,  and  into  the  opinion  entertained  of  their  revolutiona 
ry  services; 

2.  To  ascertain,  in  all  cases,  whether  the  original  claim 
ant  is  living,  and  this  by  actual  personal  inspection. 

This  measure  will,  if  adopted,  be  productive,  I  think,  of 
the  desired  results,  and  I  therefore  recommend  it  to  your 
consideration,  with  the  further  suggestion,  that  all  pay 
ments  should  be  suspended  till  the  necessary  reports  are 
received. 

It  will  be  seen  by  a  tabular  statement  annexed  to  the 
documents  transmitted  to  Congress,  that  the  appropria 
tions  for  objects  connected  with  the  war  department 
made  at  the  last  session,  for  the  service  of  the  year  1834, 
excluding  the  permanent  appropriation  for  the  payment 
of  military  gratuities  under  the  act  of  June  7,  1832,  the 
appropriation  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  arming 
and  equipping  the  militia,  and  the  appropriation  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  the  civilization  of  the  Indians,  which 
are  not  annually  renewed,  amounted  to  the  sum  of  nine 
millions  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  dol 
lars,  and  that  the  estimates  of  appropriations  necessary 
for  the  same  branches  of  service  for  the  year  1835, 
amount  to  the  sum  of  five  millions  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-four  dol 
lars,  making  a  difference  in  the  appropriations  of  the  cur 
rent  year  over  the  estimates  of  the  appropriations  for  the 
next,  of  three  millions  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  thou 
sand  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  dollars. 

The  principal  causes  which  have  operated  at  this  time 
to  produce  this  great  difference,  are  shown  in  the  reports 
and  documents,  and  in  the  detailed  estimates.  Some  of 
these  causes  are  accidental  and  temporary,  while  others 
are  permanent,  and,  aided  by  a  just  course  of  adminstra- 


SIXTH   ANNUAL   MESSAGE.  333 

*tion,  may  continue  to  operate  beneficially  upon  the  public 
expenditures. 

A  just  economy,  expending  where  the  public  service 
requires,  and  withholding  where  it  does  not,  is  among  the 
indispensable  duties  of  the  government 

I  refer  you  to  the  accompanying  report  of  the  secretary 
of  the  navy,  and  to  the  documents  with  it,  for  a  full  view 
of  the  operations  of  that  important  branch  of  our  service 
during  the  present  year.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  wisdom 
and  liberality  with  which  Congress  have  provided  for  the 
gradual  increase  of  our  navy  material,  have  been  seconded 
by  a  corresponding  zeal  and  fidelity  on  the  part  of  those 
to  whom  has  been  confided  the  execution  of  the  laws  on 
the  subject ;  and  that  but  a  short  period  would  be  now 
required  to  put  in  commission  a  force  large  enough  for 
any  exigency  into  which  the  country  may  be  thrown. 

When  we  reflect  upon  our  position  in  relation  to  other 
nations,  it  must  be  apparent  that,  in  the  event  of  conflicts 
with  them,  we  must  look  chiefly  to  our  navy  for  the  pro 
tection  of  our  national  rights.  The  wide  seas  which  sepa 
rate  us  from  other  governments,  must  of  necessity  be  the 
theatre  on  which  an  enemy  will  aim  to  assail  us,  and,  un 
less  we  are  prepared  to  meet  him  on  this  element,  we 
can  not  be  said  to  possess  the  power  requisite  to  repel  or 
prevent  aggressions.  We  can  not,  therefore,  watch  with 
too  much  attention  this  arm  of  our  defence,  or  cherish 
with  too  much  care  the  means  by  which  it  can  possess 
the  necessary  efficiency  and  extension.  To  this  end  our 
policy  has  been  heretofore  wisely  directed  to  the  constant 
employment  of  a  force  sufficient  to  guard  our  commerce, 
and  to  the  rapid  accumulation  of  the  materials  which  are 
necessary  to  repair  our  vessels,  and  construct  with  ease 
such  new  ones  as  may  be  required  in  a  state  of  war. 

In  accordance  with  this  policy,  I  recommend  to  your 
consideration  the  erection  of  the  additional  dry-dock  de 
scribed  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  and  also  the  con 
struction  of  the  steam-batteries  to  which  he  has  referred, 
for  the  purpose  of  testing  their  efficiency  as  auxiliaries  to 
the  system  of  defence  now  in  use. 

The  report  of  the  postmaster-general,  herewith  submit- 


334  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

ted,  exhibits  the  condition  and  prospects  of  that  depart 
ment.  From  that  document  it  appears  that  there  was  i 
deficit  in  the  funds  of  the  department,  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  present  year,  beyond  its  available  means,  o ' 
three  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  five  hundred  an  1 
ninety-nine  dollars  and  ninety-eight  cents,  which,  on  tli3 
first  of  July  last,  had  been  reduced  to  two  hundred  an  I 
sixty-eight  thousand  and  ninety-two  dollars  and  seventy  - 
four  cents.  It  appears,  also,  that  the  revenues  for  the 
coming  year  will  exceed  the  expenditures  about  two  hui  - 
dred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars,  which,  with  the  excess 
of  the  revenue  which  will  result  from  the  operations  c  f 
the  current  half-year,  may  be  expected,  independently  of 
any  increase  in  the  gross  amount  of  postages,  to  supply 
the  entire  deficit  before  the  end  of  1835.  But  as  th  s 
calculation  is  based  on  the  gross  amount  of  postages  whic  li 
have  accrued  within  the  period  embraced  by  the  times  of 
striking  the  balances,  it  is  obvious  that,  without  a  progres 
sive  increase  in  the  amount  of  postages,  the  existing  re 
trenchments  must  be  persevered  in  through  the  year 
1836,  that  the  department  may  accumulate  a  surplus  fund 
sufficient  to  place  it  in-  a  condition  of  perfect  ease. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  revenues  of  the  postoflice 
department,  though  they  have  increased,  and  their  amount 
is  above  that  of  any  former  year,  have  yet  fallen  short  of 
the  estimates  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
This  is  attributed,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the  increase  of  free 
letters,  growing  out  of  the  extension  and  abuse  of  the 
franking  privilege.  There  has  been  a  gradual  increase 
in  the  number  of  executive  officers  to  which  it  has  been 
granted;  and  by  an  act  passed  in  March,  1833,  it  was 
extended  to  members  of  Congress  throughout  the  whole 
year.  It  is  believed  that  a  revision  of  the  laws  relative 
to  the  franking  privilege,  with  some  enactments  to  enforce 
more  rigidly  the  restrictions  under  which  it  is  granted, 
would  operate  beneficially  to  the  country,  by  enabling  the 
department  at  an  early  period  to  restore  the  mail  facilities 
which  have  been  withdrawn,  and  to  extend  them  more 
widely,  as  the  growing  settlement  of  the  country  may 
require. 


SIXTH   ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  335 

To  a  measure  so  important  to  the  government,  and  so 
just  to  our  constituents,  who  ask  no  exclusive  privileges 
for  themselves,  and  are  not  willing  to  concede  them  to 
others,  I  earnestly  recommend  the  serious  attention  of 
Congress. 

The  importance  of  the  postoffice  department,  and  the 
magnitude  to  which  it  has  grown,  both  in  its  revenues 
and  in  its  operations,  seem  to  demand  its  reorganization 
by  law.  The  whole  of  its  receipts  and  disbursements 
have  hitherto  been  left  entirely  to  executive  control  and 
individual  discretion.  The  principle  is  as  sound  in  rela 
tion  to  this  as  to  any  other  department  of  the  government, 
that  as  little  discretion  should  be  confided  to  the  executive 
officer  who  controls  it,  as  is  compatible  with  its  efficiency. 
It  is  therefore  earnestly  recommended  that  it  be  organized 
with  an  auditor  and  treasury  of  its  own,  appointed  by  the 
president  and  senate,  who  shall  be  branches  of  the  treasu 
ry  department 

Your  attention  is  again  respectfully  invited  to  the 
defect  which  exists  in  the  judicial  system  of  the  United 
States.  Nothing  can  be  more  desirable  than  the  uniform 
operation  of  the  federal  judiciary  throughout  the  several 
states,  all  of  which,  standing  on  the  same  footing  as  mem 
bers  of  the  Union,  have  equal  rights  to  the  advantages 
and  benefits  resulting  from  its  laws.  This  object  is  not 
attained  by  the  judicial  acts  now  in  force,  because  they 
leave  one-fourth  of  the  states  without  circuit  courts. 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  duty  of  Congress  to  place  all  the 
states  on  the  same  footing  in  this  respect,  either  by  the 
creation  of  an  additional  number  of  associate  judges,  or 
by  an  enlargement  of  the  circuits  assigned  to  those  al 
ready  appointed,  so  as  to  include  the  new  states.  W  hat- 
ever  may  be  the  difficulty  in  a  proper  organization  of  the 
judicial  system,  so  as  to  secure  its  efficiency  and  unifor 
mity  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
avoid  such  an  increase  of  judges  as  would  encumber  the 
supreme  appellate  tribunal,  it  should  not  be  allowed  to 
weigh  against  the  great  injustice  which  the  present  ope 
ration  of  the  system  produces. 

I  trust  that  I  may  be  also  pardoned  for  renewing  the 


836  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

recommendations  I  have  so  often  submitted  to  your  atten 
tion,  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  electing  the  president  and 
vice-president  of  the  United  States.  All  the  reflection  I 
have  been  able  to  bestow  upon  the  subject  increases  my 
conviction  that  the  best  interests  of  the  country  will  be 
promoted  by  the  adoption  of  some  plan  which  will  secure, 
in  all  contingencies,  that  important  right  of  sovereignty 
to  the  direct  control  of  the  people.  Could  this  be 
attained,  and  the  terms  of  those  officers  be  limited  to  a 
single  period  of  either  four  or  six  years,  I  think  our  liber 
ties  would  possess  an  additional  safeguard. 

At  your  last  session  I  called  the  attention  of  Congress 
to  the  destruction  of  the  public  building  occupied  by  the 
treasury  department.  As  the  public  interest  requires 
that  another  building  should  be  erected  with  as  little  de 
lay  as  possible,  it  is  hoped  that  the  means  will  be  season 
ably  provided,  and  that  they  will  be  ample  enough  to 
authorize  such  an  enlargement  and  improvement  in  the 
plan  of  the  building  as  will  more  effectually  accommodate 
the  public  officers,  and  secure  the  public  documents 
deposited  in  it  from  the  casualties  of  fire. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy  myself  that  the  bill 
entitled,  "  An  act  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Wa- 
bash  river,"  which  was  sent  to  me  at  the  close  of  your 
last  session,  ought  to  pass,  and  I  have  therefore  withheld 
from  it  my  approval,  and  now  return  it  to  the  senate,  the 
body  in  which  it  originated. 

There  can  be  no  question  connected  with  the  adminis 
tration  of  public  affairs,  more  important,  or  more  difficult 
to  be  satisfactorily  dealt  with,  than  that  which  relates  to 
the  rightful  authority  and  proper  action  of  the  federal 
government  upon  the  subject  of  internal  improvements. 
To  inherent  embarrassments  have  been  added  others 
resulting  from  the  course  of  our  legislation  concerning  it. 

I  have  heretofore  communicated  freely  with  Congress 
upon  this  subject,  and,  in  adverting  to  it  again,  I  can  not 
refrain  from  expressing  my  increased  conviction  of  itb 
extreme  importance,  as  well  in  regard  to  its  bearing  upon 
the  maintenance  of  the  constitution,  and  the  prudent 
management  of  the  public  revenue,  as  on  account  of  its 
disturbing  effect  upon  the  harmony  of  the  Union. 


SIXTH    ANNUAL  MESSAGE.  337 

We  are  in  no  danger  from  violations  of  the  constitution, 
by  which  encroachments  are  made  upon  the  personal 
rights  of  the  citizens.  The  sentence  of  condemnation 
long  since  pronounced  by  the  American  people  upon  acts 
of  that  character,  will,  I  doubt  not,  continue  to  prove  as 
salutary  in  its  effects  as  it  is  irreversible  in  its  nature. 
But  against  the  dangers  of  unconstitutional  acts  which, 
instead  of  menacing  the  vengeance  of  offended  authority, 
proffer  local  advantages,  and  bring  in  their  train  the 
patronage  of  the  government,  we  are,  I  fear,  not  so  safe. 
To  suppose  that,  because  our  government  has  been  insti 
tuted  for  the  beneiit  of  the  people,  it  must  therefore  have 
the  power  to  do  whatever  may  seem  to  conduce  to  the 
public  good,  is  an  error  into  which  even  honest  minds  are 
too  apt  to  fall.  In  yielding  themselves  to  this  fallacy, 
they  overlook  the  great  considerations  in  which  the  fede 
ral  constitution  was  founded.  They  forget  that,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  conceded  diversities  in  the  interest  and 
condition  of  the  different  states,  it  was  foreseen,  at  the 
period  of  its  adoption,  that,  although  a  particular  measure 
of  the  government  might  be  beneficial  and  proper  in  one 
state,  it  might  be  the  reverse  in  another — that  it  was  for 
this  reason  the  states  would  not  consent  to  make  a  grant 
to  the  federal  government  of  the  general  and  usual  pow 
ers  of  government,  but  of  such  only  as  were  specifically 
enumerated,  and  the  probable  effects  of  which  they  could, 
as  they  thought,  safely  anticipate ;  and  they  forget  also 
the  paramount  obligation  upon  all  to  abide  by  the  com 
pact,  then  so  solemnly,  and  as  it  was  hoped,  so  firmly 
established.  In  addition  to  the  dangers  to  the  constitu 
tion  springing  from  the  sources  I  have  stated,  there  has 
been  one  which  was  perhaps  greater  than  a'l.  I  allude 
to  the  materials  which  this  subject  has  afforded  for  sinister 
appeals  to  selfish  feelings,  and  the  opinion  heretofore  so 
extensively  entertained  of  its  adaptation  to  the  purposes 
of  personal  ambition.  With  such  stimulants,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  acts  and  pretensions  of  the  federal 
government^  in  this  behalf,  should  sometimes  have  been 
carried  to  an  alarming  extent.  The  questions  which  have 
arisen  upon  this  subject  have  related — 


338  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

1.  To  the  power  of  making  internal  improvements  with 
in  the  limits  of  a  state,  with  the  right  of  territorial  juris 
diction,  sufficient  at  least  for  their  preservation  and  use ; 

2.  To  the  right  of  appropriating  money  in  aid  of  such 
works  when  carried  on  by  a  state,  or  by  a  company  in 
virtue  of  state  authority,  surrendering  the  claim  of  juris 
diction  ;  and, 

3.  To  the  propriety  of  appropriations  for  improvements 
of  a  particular  class,  viz.,  for  lighthouses,  beacons,  buoys, 
public  piers,  and  for  the  removal  of  sandbars,  sawyers,  and 
other  temporary  and  partial  impediments  in  our  navigable 
rivers  and  harbors. 

The  claims  of  power  for  the  general  government  upon 
each  of  these  points  certainly  present  matter  of  the  deep 
est  interest.  The  first  is,  however,  of  much  the  greatest 
importance,  inasmuch  as,  in  addition  to  the  dangers  of 
unequal  and  improvident  expenditures  of  public  moneys, 
common  to  all,  there  is  superadded  to  that  the  conflicting 
jurisdictions  of  the  respective  governments.  Federal 
jurisdiction,  at  least  to  the  extent  I  have  stated,  has  been 
regarded  by  its  advocates  as  necessarily  appurtenant  to 
the  power  in  question,  if  that  exists  by  the  constitution. 
That  the  most  injurious  conflicts  would  unavoidably  arise 
between  the  respective  jurisdictions  of  the  state  and  fede 
ral  governments,  in  the  absence  of  a  constitutional  provi 
sion  marking  out  their  respective  boundaries,  can  not  be 
doubted.  The  local  advantages  to  be  obtained  would 
induce  the  states  to  overlook  in  the  beginning  the  dangers 
and  difficulties  to  which  they  might  ultimately  be  ex 
posed.  The  powers  exercised  by  the  federal  government 
would  soon  be  regarded  with  jealousy  by  the  state  author 
ities,  and  originating,  as  they  must,  from  implication  or 
assumption,  it  would  be  impossible  to  affix  to  them  certain 
and  safe  limits.  Opportunities  and  temptations  to  the 
assumption  of  power  incompatible  with  state  sovereignty, 
would  be  increased,  and  those  barriers  which  resist  the 
tendency  of  our  system  toward  consolidation,  greatly 
weakened.  The  officers  and  agents  of  the  general  gov 
ernment  might  not  always  have  the  discretion  to  abstain 
from  intermeddling  with  state  concerns ;  and  if  they  did, 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  339 

they  would  not  always  escape  the  suspicion  of  having 
done  so.  Collisions  and  consequent  irritations  would 
spring  up ;  that  harmony  which  should  ever  exist  between 
the  general  government  and  each  member  of  the  confede 
racy,  would  be  frequently  interrupted ;  a  spirit  of  conten 
tion  would  be  engendered ;  and  the  dangers  of  division 
greatly  multiplied. 

Yet  we  all  know  that,  notwithstanding  these  grave 
objections,  this  dangerous  doctrine  was  at  one  time,  appa 
rently,  proceeding  to  its  final  establishment  with  fearful 
rapidity.  The  desire  to  embark  the  federal  government 
in  works  of  internal  improvement,  prevailed  in  the  highest 
degree  during  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress  that 
I  had  the  honor  to  meet  in  my  present  situation.  When 
the  bill  authorizing  a  subscription  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  for  stock  in  the  Maysville  and  Lexington 
turnpike  company,  passed  the  two  houses,  there  had  been 
reported  by  the  committees  on  internal  improvements, 
bills  containing  appropriations  for  such  objects,  exclusive 
of  those  for  the  Cumberland  road,  and  for  harbors  and 
lighthouses,  to  the  amount  of  about  one  hundred  and  six 
millions  of  dollars.  In  this  amount  was  included  author 
ity  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  subscribe  for  the 
stock  of  different  companies  to  a  great  extent,  and  the 
residue  was  principally  for  the  direct  construction  of  roads 
by  this  government.  In  addition  to  these  projects,  which 
have  been  presented  to  the  two  houses  under  the  sanction 
and  recommendation  of  their  respective  committees  on 
internal  improvements,  there  were  then  still  pending  be 
fore  the  committees,  and  in  memorials  to  Congress,  pre 
sented,  but  not  referred,  different  projects  for  works  of  a 
similar  character,  the  expense  of  which  can  not  be  esti 
mated  with  certainty,  but  must  have  exceeded  one  hun 
dred  millions  of  dollars. 

Regarding  the  bill  authorizing  a  subscription  to  the 
stock  of  the  Maysville  and  Lexington  turnpike  company 
as  the  entering  wedge  of  a  system  which,  however  weak 
at  first,  might  soon  become  strong  enough  to  rive  the 
bands  of  the  Union  asunder;  and  believing  that,  if  its 
passage  was  acquiesced  in  by  the  executive  and  the  peo- 


840  LIFE    OP   JACKSON. 

pie,  there  would  no  longer  be  any  limitation  upon  the 
authority  of  the  general  government  in  respect  to  the 
appropriation  of  money  for  such  objects,  I  deemed  it  an 
imperative  duty  to  withhold  from  it  the  executive  appro 
val.  Although,  from  the  obviously  local  character  of  that 
work,  I  might  well  have  contented  myself  with  a  refusal 
to  approve  the  bill  upon  that  ground,  yet,  sensible  of  the 
vital  importance  of  the  subject,  and  anxious  that  my 
views  and  opinions  in  regard  to  the  whole  matter  should 
be  fully  understood  by  Congress,  and  by  my  constituents, 
I  felt  it  my  duty  to  go  further.  I  therefore  embraced 
that  early  occasion  to  apprize  Congress  that,  in  my  opinion, 
the  constitution  did  not  confer  upon  it  the  power  to 
authorize  the  construction  of  ordinary  roads  and  canals 
within  the  limits  of  a  state,  and  to  say,  respectfully,  that 
no  bill  admitting  such  a  power  could  receive  my  official 
sanction.  I  did  so  in  the  confident  expectation  that  the 
speedy  settlement  of  the  public  mind  upon  the  whole 
subject  would  be  greatly  facilitated  by  the  difference 
between  the  two  houses  and  myself,  and  that  the  harmo 
nious  action  of  the  several  departments  of  the  federal 
government  in  regard  to  it  would  be  ultimately  secured. 

So  far,  at  least,  as  it  regards  this  branch  of  the  subject, 
my  best  hopes  have  been  realized.  Nearly  four  years 
have  elapsed,  and  several  sessions  of  Congress  have  inter 
vened,  and  no  attempt  within  my  recollection  has  been 
made  to  induce  Congress  to  exercise  this  power.  The 
applications  for  the  construction  of  roads  and  canals,  which 
were  formerly  multiplied  upon  your  files,  are  no  longer 
presented ;  and  we  have  good  reason  to  infer  that  the  cur 
rent  of  public  sentiment  has  become  so  decided  against 
the  pretension  as  effectually  to  discourage  its  reassertion. 
So  thinking,  I  derive  the  greatest  satisfaction  from  the 
conviction  that  thus  much  at  least  has  been  secured  upon 
this  important  and  embarrassing  subject. 

From  attempts  to  appropriate  the  national  funds  to  ob 
jects  which  are  confessedly  of  a  local  character,  we  can 
not,  I  trust,  have  anything  further  to  apprehend.  My 
views  in  regard  to  the  expediency  of  making  appropria 
tions  for  works  which  are  claimed  to  be  of  a  national  cha- 


SIXTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  341 

racter,  and  prosecuted  under  state  authority,  assuming 
that  Congress  have  the  right  to  do  so,  were  stated  in  my 
annual  message  to  Congress  in  1830,  and  also  in  that  con 
taining  my  objections  to  the  Maysville  road  bill. 

So  thoroughly  convinced  am  I  that  no  such  appropria 
tions  ought  to  be  made  by  Congress,  until  a  suitable  con 
stitutional  provision  is  made  upon  the  subject,  and  so 
essential  do  I  regard  the  point  to  the  highest  interests  of 
our  country,  that  I  could  not  consider  myself  as  discharg 
ing  my  duty  to  my  constituents  in  giving  the  executive 
sanction  to  any  bill  containing  such  an  appropriation.  If 
the  people  of  the  United  States  desire  that  the  public 
treasury  shall  be  resorted  to  for  the  means  to  prosecute 
such  works,  they  will  concur  in  an  amendment  of  the  con 
stitution,  prescribing  a  rule  by  which  the  national  charac 
ter  of  the  works  is  to  be  tested,  and  by  which  the  great 
est  practicable  equality  of  benefits  may  be  secured  to  each 
member  of  the  confederacy.  The  effects  of  such  a  regu 
lation  would  be  most  salutary  in  preventing  unprofitable 
expenditures,  in  securing  our  legislation  from  the  perni 
cious  consequences  of  a  scramble  for  the  favors  of  govern 
ment,  and  in  repressing  the  spirit  of  discontent  which 
must  inevitably  arise  from  an  unequal  distribution  of  trea 
sures  which  belong  alike  to  all. 

There  is  another  class  of  appropriations  for  what  may 
be  called,  without  impropriety,  internal  improvements, 
which  have  always  been  regarded  as  standing  upon  dif 
ferent  grounds  from  those  to  which  I  have  referred.  I 
allude  to  such  as  have  for  their  object  the  improvement 
of  our  harbors,  the  removal  of  partial  and  temporary  ob 
structions  in  our  navigable  rivers,  for  the  facility  and  secu 
rity  of  our  foreign  commerce.  The  grounds  upon  which 
I  distinguished  appropriations  of  this  character  from  oth 
ers  have  already  been  stated  to  Congress.  I  will  now- 
only  add  that,  at  the  first  session  of  Congress  undei  the 
new  constitution,  it  was  provided  by  law,  that  all  expen 
ses  which  should  accrue  from  and  after  the  15th  day  of 
August,  1789,  in  the  necessary  support  and  maintenance 
and  repairs  of  all  light-houses,  beacons,  buoys,  and  public 
piers,  erected,  placed,  or  sunk,  before  the  passage  of  the 


342  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

act,  within  any  bay,  inlet,  harbor,  or  port  of  the  United 
States,  for  rendering  the  navigation  thereof  easy  and  safe, 
should  be  defrayed  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States ;  and  further,  that  it  be  the  duty  of  the  secretary 
of  the  treasury  to  provide  by  contracts,  with  the  approba 
tion  of  the  President,  for  rebuilding  when  necessary  and 
keeping  in  good  repair  the  lighthouses,  beacons,  buoys, 
and  public  piers,  in  the  several  states  and  for  furnishing 
them  with  supplies.  Appropriations  for  similar  objects 
have  been  continued  from  that  time  to  the  present  with 
out  interruption  or  dispute.  As  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  increase  and  extension  of  our  foreign  commerce, 
ports  of  entry  and  delivery  have  been  multiplied  and 
established,  not  only  upon  our  seaboard,  but  in  the  inte 
rior  of  the  country,  upon  our  lakes  and  navigable  rivers. 
The  convenience  and  safety  of  this  commerce  have  led  to 
the  gradual  extension  of  these  expenditures ;  to  the  erec 
tion  of  lighthouses,  the  placing,  planting  and  sinking  of 
buoys,  beacons,  and  piers,  and  to  the  removal  of  partial 
and  temporary  obstructions  in  our  navigable  rivers,  and 
the  harbors  upon  our  great  lakes,  as  well  as  on  the  sea 
board.  Although  I  expressed  to  Congress  my  apprehen 
sion  that  these  expenditures  have  sometimes  been  extra 
vagant  and  disproportionate  to  the  advantages  to  be  de 
rived  from  them,  I  have  not  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  refuse 
my  assent  to  bills  containing  them,  and  have  contented 
myself  to  follow,  in  this  respect,  in  the  footsteps  of  all  my 
predecessors.  Sensible,  however,  from  experience  and 
observation,  of  the  great  abuses  to  which  the  unrestricted 
exercise  of  this  authority  by  Congress  was  exposed,  I  have 
prescribed  a  limitation  for  the  government  of  my  own 
conduct,  by  which  expenditures  of  this  character  are  con 
fined  to  places  below  the  ports  of  entry  or  delivery  estab 
lished  by  law.  I  am  very  sensible  that  this  restriction  is 
not  as  satisfactory  as  could  be  desired,  and  that  much 
embarrassment  may  be  caused  to  the  executive  depart 
ment  in  its  execution,  by  appropriations  for  remote  and 
not  well-understood  objects.  But  as  neither  my  own  re 
flections,  nor  the  lights  which  I  may  properly  derive  from 
other  sources,  have  supplied  me  with  a  better,  I  shall  con- 


SIXTH   ANNUAL    MESSAGE.  343 

tinue  to  apply  my  best  exertions  to  a  faithful  application 
of  the  rule  upon  which  it  is  founded.  I  sincerely  regret 
that  I  could  not  give  my  assent  to  the  bill  entitled,  "An 
act  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Wabash  river ;"  but 
I  could  not  have  done  so  without  receding  from  the 
ground  which  I  have,  upon  the  fullest  consideration,  taken 
upon  this  subject,  and  of  which  Congress  has  been  here 
tofore  apprized,  and  without  throwing  the  subject  again 
open  to  abuses  which  no  good  citizen,  entertaining  my 
opinions,  could  desire. 

I  rely  upon  the  intelligence  and  candor  of  my  fellow- 
citizens,  in  whose  liberal  indulgence  I  have  already  so 
largely  participated,  for  a  correct  appreciation  of  my  mo 
tives  in  interposing,  as  I  have  done,  on  this,  and  other  oc 
casions,  checks  to  a  course  of  legislation  which,  without, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  calling  in  question  the  motives  of 
others,  I  consider  as  sanctioning  improper  and  unconstitu 
tional  expenditures  of  public  treasure. 

I  am  not  hostile  to  internal  improvements,  and  wish  to 
see  them  extended  to  every  part  of  the  country.  But  I 
am  fully  persuaded,  if  they  are  not  commenced  in  a  pro 
per  manner,  confined  to  proper  objects,  and  conducted 
under  an  authority  generally  conceded  to  be  rightful,  that 
a  successful  prosecution  of  them  can  not  be  reasonably 
expected.  The  attempt  will  meet  with  resistance  where 
it  might  otherwise  receive  support ;  and  instead  of  strength 
ening  the  bonds  of  our  confederacy,  it  will  only  multiply 
and  aggravate  the  causes  of  disunion. 


344  LIFE    OF  JACKSON. 


MESSAGE  IN  RELATION  TO  TEXAS. 

Delivered  December  2ls*,  1836. 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States : — 

DURING  the  last  session,  information  was  given  to  Con 
gress  by  the  executive,  that  measures  had  been  taken  to 
ascertain  "  the  political,  military,  and  civil  condition  of 
Texas."  I  now  submit  for  your  consideration,  extracts 
from  the  report  of  the  agent  who  had  been  appointed  to 
collect  it,  relative  to  the  condition  of  that  country. 

No  steps  have  been  taken  by  the  executive  toward  the. 
acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  Texas ;  and  the 
whole  subject  would  have  been  left  without  further  re 
mark  on  the  information  now  given  to  Congress,  were  it 
not  that  the  two  houses  at  their  last  session,  acting  sepa 
rately,  passed  resolutions  "  that  the  independence  of  Texas 
ought  to  be  acknowledged  by  the  United  States,  when 
ever  satisfactory  information  should  be  received  that  it 
had  in  successful  operation  a  civil  government,  capable  of 
performing  the  duties,  and  fulfilling  the  obligations  of 
an  independent  power."  This  mark  of  interest  in  the 
question  of  the  independence  of  Texas,  and  indication  of 
the  views  of  Congress,  make  it  proper  that  I  should,  some 
what  in  detail,  present  the  considerations  that  have  gov 
erned  the  executive  in  continuing  to  occupy  the  ground 
previously  taken  in  the  contest  between  Mexico  and  Texas. 

The  acknowledgment  of  a  new  state  as  independent,  and 
entitled  to  a  place  in  the  family  of  nations,  is  at  all  times 
an  act  of  great  delicacy  and  responsibility ;  but  more  espe 
cially  so  when  such  state  has  forcibly  separated  itself  from 
another,  of  which  it  had  formed  an  integral  part,  and 
which  still  claims  dominion  over  it.  A  premature  recog 
nition  under  these  circumstances,  if  not  looked  upon  as 


IESSAGE    IN   RELATION   TO   TEXAS.  345 

justifiable  cause  of  war,  is  always  liable  to  be  regarded  as 
a  proof  of  an  unfriendly  spirit  to  one  of  the  contending 
parties.  All  questions  relative  to  the  government  of  for 
eign  nations,  whether  of  the  old  or  new  world,  have  been 
treated  by  the  United  States  as  questions  of  fact  only,  and 
our  predecessors  have  cautiously  abstained  from  deciding 
upon  them  until  the  clearest  evidence  was  in  then*  pos 
session,  to  enable  them,  not  only  to  decide  correctly,  but 
to  shield  their  decisions  from  eveiy  unworthy  imputation. 
In  all  the  contests  that  have  arisen  out  of  the  revolutions 
of  France,  out  of  the  disputes  relating  to  the  crowns  of 
Portugal  and  Spain,  out  of  the  separation  of  the  Ameri 
can  possessions  of  both  from  the  European  governments, 
and  out  of  the  numerous  and  constantly  occurring  strug 
gles  for  dominion  in  Spanish  America,  so  wisely  consistent 
with  our  just  principles  has  been  the  action  of  our  govern 
ment,  that  we  have,  under  the  most  critical  circumstances, 
avoided  all  censure,  and  encountered  no  other  evil  than 
that  produced  by  a  transient  estrangement  of  good  will  in 
those  against  whom  we  have  been  by  force  of  evidence 
compelled  to  decide. 

It  has  thus  made  known  to  the  world,  that  the  uniform 
policy  and  practice  of  the  United  States  is  to  avoid  all 
interference  in  disputes  which  merely  relate  to  the  inter 
nal  government  of  other  nations,  and  eventually  to  recog 
nise  the  authority  of  the  prevailing  party  without  reference 
to  our  particular  interests  and  views,  or  to  the  merits  of 
the  original  controversy.  Public  opinion  here  is  so  firmly 
established  and  well  understood  in  favor  of  this  policy, 
that  no  serious  disagreement  ha^ver  risen  among  our 
selves  in  relation  to  it,  although  brought  under  view  in  a 
variety  of  forms,  and  at  periods  when  the  minds  of  the 
people  were  greatly  excited  by  the  agitation  of  topics 
purely  domestic  in  their  character.  Nor  has  any  delibe 
rate  inquiry  ever  been  instituted  in  Congress,  or  in  any 
of  our  legislative  bodies,  as  to  whom  belonged  the  power 
of  originally  recognising  a  new  state — a  power,  the  exer 
cise  of  which  is  equivalent,  under  some  circumstances,  to 
a  declaration  of  war — a  power  nowhere  expressly  delega 
ted,  and  only  granted  in  the  constitution,  as  it  is  necessa- 


346  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

rily  involved  in  some  of  the  great  powers  given  to  Con 
gress  ;  in  that  given  to  the  president  and  senate  to  form 
treaties  with  foreign  powers,  and  to  appoint  ambassadors 
and  other  public  ministers ;  and  in  that  conferred  upon 
the  president  to  receive  ministers  from  foreign  nations. 

In  the  preamble  to  the  resolution  of  the  house  of  repre 
sentatives,  it  is  distinctly  intimated  that  the  expediency  of 
recognising  the  independence  of  Texas  should  be  left  to 
the  decision  of  Congress.  In  this  view,  on  the  ground  of 
expediency,  I  am  disposed  to  concur;  and  do  not,  there 
fore,  consider  it  necessary  to  express  any  opinion  as  to  the 
strict  constitutional  right  of  the  executive,'  either  apart 
from,  or  in  conjunction  with  the  senate,  over  the  subject. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  that  on  no  future  occasion  will  a  dis 
pute  arise,  as  none  has  heretofore  occurred,  between  the 
executive  and  the  legislature  in  the  exercise  of  the  power 
of  recognition.  It  will  always  be  considered  consistent 
with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  and  most  safe,  that  it 
should  be  exercised,  when  probably  leading  to  war,  with 
a  previous  understanding  with  that  body  by  whom  war 
can  alone  be  declared,  and  by  whom  all  the  provisions  for 
sustaining  its  perils  must  be  furnished.  Its  submission  to 
Congress,  which  represents  in  one  of  its  branches  the 
states  of  the  Union,  and,  in  the  other,  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  where  there  may  be  reasonable  ground  to 
apprehend  so  grave  a  consequence,  would  certainly  afford 
the  fullest  satisfaction  to  our  own.  country,  and  a  perfect 
guarantee  to  all  other  nations,  of  the  justice  and  prudence 
of  the  measures  which  might  be  adopted. 

In  making  these  suggestions,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to 
relieve  myself  from  the  responsibility  of  expressing  my 
own  opinions  of  the  course  the  interests  of  our  country 
prescribe,  and  its  honor  permits  us  to  follow. 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  imagined  that  a  question  of  this 
character  could  be  presented,  in  relation  to  which  it  would 
be  more  difficult  for  the  United  States  to  avoid  exciting 
the  suspicion  and  jealousy  of  other  powers,  and  maintain 
their  established  character  for  fair  and  impartial  dealing. 
But  on  this,  as  on  every  other  trying  occasion,  safety  is  to 
be  found  in  a  rigid  adherence  to  principle. 


MESSAGE  IN  RELATION  TO  TEXAS.        347 

In  the  contest  between  Spain  and  her  revolted  colonies 
we  stood  aloof,  and  waited  not  only  until  the  ability  of  the 
new  states  to  protect  themselves  was  fully  established, 
but  until  the  danger  of  their  being  again  subjugated  had 
entirely  passed  away.  Then,  and  not  until  then,  were 
they  recognised.  Such  was  our  course  in  regard  to  Mexi 
co  herself.  The  same  policy  was  observed  in  all  the  dis 
putes  growing  out  of  the  separation  into  distinct  govern 
ments  of  those  Spanish  American  states,  who  began,  or 
carried  on  the  contest  with  the  parent  country,  united  un 
der  one  form  of  government.  We  acknowledged  the  sepa 
rate  independence  of  New  Grenada,  of  Venezuela,  and  of 
Ecuador,  only  after  their  independent  existence  was  no 
longer  a  subject  of  dispute,  or  was  actually  acquiesced  in 
by  those  with  whom  they  had  been  previously  united.  It 
is  true  that,  with  regard  to  Texas,  the  civil  authority  of 
Mexico  has  been  expelled,  its  invading  army  defeated,  the 
chief  of  the  republic  himself  captured,  and  all  present 
power  to  control  the  newly  organized  government  of  Texas 
annihilated  within  its  confines.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is,  in  appearance  at  least,  an  immense  disparity  of 
physical  force  on  the  side  of  Texas.  The  Mexican  repub 
lic,  under  another  executive,  is  rallying  its  forces  under  a 
new  leader,  and  menacing  a  fresh  invasion  to  recover  its 
lost  dominion. 

Upon  the  issue  of  this  threatened  invasion,  the  inde 
pendence  of  Texas  may  be  considered  as  suspended ;  and 
were  there  nothing  peculiar  in  the  relative  situation  of 
the  United  States  and  Texas,  our  acknowledgment  of  its 
independence  at  such  a  crisis  could  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  consistent  with  that  prudent  reserve  with  which  we 
have  heretofore  held  ourselves  bound  to  treat  all  similar 
questions.  But  there  are  circumstances  in  the  relations 
of  the  two  countries,  which  require  us  to  act  on  this  occa 
sion,  with  even  more  than  our  wonted  caution.  Texas 
was  once  claimed  as  a  part  of  our  property,  and  there  are 
those  among  our  citizens  who,  always  reluctant  to  abandon 
that  claim,  can  not  but  regard  with  solicitude  the  prospect 
of  the  reunion  of  the  territory  to  this  country.  A  large 


848  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

portion  of  its  civilized  inhabitants  are  emigrants  from  the 
United  States;  speak  the  same  language  with  ourselves; 
cherish  the  same  principles,  political  and  religious,  and 
are  bound  to  many  of  our  citizens  by  ties  of  friendship 
and  kindred  blood ;  and  more  than  all,  it  is  known  that 
the  people  of  that  country  have  instituted  the  same  form 
of  government  with  our  own ;  and  have,  since  the  close 
of  your  last  session,  openly  resolved,  on  the  acknowledg 
ment  by  us  of  their  independence,  to  seek  admission  into 
the  Union  as  one  of  the  federal  states.  This  last  circum 
stance  is  a  matter  of  peculiar  delicacy,  and  forces  upon  us 
considerations  of  the  gravest  character.  The  title  of  Tex 
as  to  the  territory  she  claims  is  identified  with  her  inde 
pendence;  she  asks  us  to  acknowledge  that  title  to  the 
territory,  with  an  avowed  design  to  treat  immediately  of 
its  transfer  to  the  United  States.  It  becomes  us  to  be 
ware  of  a  too  early  movement,  as  it  might  subject  us, 
however  unjustly,  to  the  imputation  of  seeking  to  establish 
the  claim  of  our  neighbors  to  a  territory,  with  a  view  to 
its  subsequent  acquisition  by  ourselves.  Prudence,  there 
fore,  seems  to  dictate  that  we  should  still  stand  aloof, 
and  maintain  our  present  attitude,  if  not  until  Mexico 
itself,  or  one  of  the  great  foreign  powers,  shall  recognise 
the  independence  of  the  new  government,  at  least  until 
the  lapse  of  time,  or  the  course  of  events  shall  have 
proved,  beyond  cavil  or  dispute,  the  ability  of  the  people 
of  that  country  to  maintain  their  separate  sovereignty,  and 
to  uphold  the  government  constituted  by  them.  Neither 
of  the  contending  parties  can  justly  complain  of  this 
course.  By  pursuing  it,  we  are  but  carrying  out  the  long- 
established  policy  of  our  government — a  policy  which  has 
secured  to  us  respect  and  influence  abroad,  and  inspired 
confidence  at  home. 

Having  thus  discharged  my  duty,  by  presenting  with 
simplicity  and  directness  the  views  which,  after  much  re 
flection,  I  have  been  led  to  take  of  this  important  subject, 
I  have  only  to  add  the  expression  of  my  confidence,  that 
if  Congress  shall  differ  with  me  upon  it,  their  judgment 
will  be  the  result  of  dispassionate,  prudent,  and  wise*  deli- 


MESSAGE    IN    RELATION   TO    TEXAS.  349 

beration ;  with  the  assurance  that,  during  the  short  time  I 
shall  continue  connected  with  the  government,  I  shall 
promptly  and  cordially  unite  with  you  in  such  measures 
as  may  be  deemed  best  fitted  to  increase  the  prosperity 
and  perpetuate  the  peace  of  our  favored  country. 


350  LIFE    OF    JACK80IT. 


Farewell  Address  of  President  Jackson. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  Being  about  to  retire  finally  from 
ublic  life,  I  beg  leave  to  offer  you  my  grateful  thanks  for 
the  many  proofs  of  kindness  and  confidence  which  I  have 
received  at  your  hands.  It  has  been  my  fortune,  in  the 
discharge  of  public  duties,  civil  and  military,  frequently 
to  have  found  myseJf  in  difficult  and  trying  situations, 
where  prompt  decision  and  energetic  action  were  neces 
sary,  and  where  the  interests  of  the  country  required  that 
high  responsibilities  should  be  fearlessly  encountered  ;  and 
it  is  with  the  deepest  emotions  of  gratitude  that  I  acknow 
ledge  the  continued  and  unbroken  confidence  with  which 
you  have  sustained  me  in  every  trial.  My  public  life  has 
been  a  long  one,  and  I  cannot  hope  that  it  has  at  all  times 
been  free  from  errors.  But  I  have  the  consolation  of 
knowing,  that  if  mistakes  have  been  committed,  they  have 
not-seriously  injured  the  country  I  so  anxiously  endeavored 
to  serve  ;  and  at  the  moment  when  I  surrender  my  last 
public  trust,  I  leave  this  great  people  prosperous  and 
happy;  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  liberty  and  peace;  and 
honored  and  respected  by  every  nation  in  the  world. 

If  my  humble  efforts  have,  in  any  degree,  contributed 
to  preserve  to  you  these  blessings,  I  have  been  more  than 
rewarded  by  the  honors  you  have  heaped  upon  me  ;  and, 
above  all,  by  the  generous  confidence  with  which  you 
have  supported  me  in  every  peril,  and  with  which  you 
have  continued  to  animate  and  cheer  my  path  to  the  clos 
ing  hour  of  my  political  life.  The  time  has  now  come, 
when  advanced  age  and  a  broken  frame  warn  me  to  retire 
from  public  concerns  ;  but  the  recollection  of  the  many 
favors  you  have  bestowed  upon  me  is  engraven  upon  my 
heart,  and  I  have  felt  that  I  could  not  part  from  your  ser 
vice  without  making  this  public  acknowledgment  of  the 
gratitude  I  owe  you.  And  if  I  use  the  occasion  to  offer 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  251 

to  you  the  counsels  of  age  and  experience,  you  will,  I 
trust,  receive  them  with  the  same  indulgent  kindness 
which  you  have  so  often  extended  to  me ;  and  will,  at 
least,  see  in  them  an  earnest  desire  to  perpetuate,  in  this 
favored  land,  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  equal  laws. 

We  have  now  lived  almost  fifty  years  under  the  Con 
stitution  framed  by  the  sages  and  patriots  of  the  Revolution. 
The  conflicts  in  which  the  nations  of  Europe  were  engaged 
during  a  great  part  of  this  period ;  the  spirit  in  which 
they  waged  war  with  each  other;  and  our  intimate  com 
mercial  connections  with  every  part  of  the  civilized  world, 
rendered  it  a  time  of  much  difficulty  for  the  government 
of  the  United  States.  We  have  had  our  seasons  of  peace 
and  of  war,  with  all  the  evils  which  precede  or  follow  a 
state  of  hostility  with  powerful  nations.  We  encountered 
these  trials,  with  our  Constitution  yet  in  its  infancy,  and 
under  the  disadvantages  which  a  new  and  untried  govern 
ment  must  always  feel,  when  it  is  called  upon  to  put  forth 
its  whole  strength,  without  the  lights  of  experience  to 
guide  it,  or  the  weight  of  precedents  to  justify  its  mea 
sures.  But  we  have'  passed  triumphantly  through  all 
these  difficulties.  Our  Constitution  is  no  longer  a  doubtful 
experiment ;  and  at  the  end  of  nearly  half  a  century,  we 
find  that  it  has  preserved,  unimpaired,  the  liberties  of  the 
people,  and  secured  the  rights  of  property,  and  that  our 
country  has  improved,  and  is  flourishing  beyond  any 
former  example  in  the  history  of  nations, 

In  our  domestic  concerns,  there  is  every  thing  to  en 
courage  us ;  and  if  you  are  true  to  yourselves,  nothing 
can  impede  your  march  to  the  highest  point  of  national 
prosperity.  The  states  which  had  so  long  been  retarded 
in  their  improvements  by  the  Indian  tribes  residing  in  the 
midst  of  them,  are  at  length  relieved  from  the  evil ;  and 
this  unhappy  race — the  original  dwellers  in  our  land — are 
now  placed  in  a  situation  where  we  may  well  hope  that 
they  will  share  in  the  blessings  of  civilization,  and  be 
saved  from  that  degradation  and  destruction  to  which  they 
were  rapidly  hastening,  while  they  remained  in  the  states ; 
and  while  the  safety  and  comfort  of  our  own  citizens  have 
been  greatly  promoted  by  their  removal,  the  philanthropist 


352  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

will  rejoice  that  the  remnant  of  this  ill-iated  race  has  been 
at  length  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  injury  or  oppression, 
and  that  the  paternal  care  of  the  general  government  will 
hereafter  watch  over  them  and  protect  them. 

If  we  turn  to  our  relations  with  foreign  powers,  we  find 
our  condition  equally  gratifying.  Actuated  by  the  sincere 
desire  to  do  justice  to  every  nation,  and  to  preserve  the 
blessings  of  peace,  our  intercourse  with  them  has  been 
conducted  on  the  part  of  this  government  in  the  spirit  of 
frankness,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  it  has  gene 
rally  been  met  in  a  corresponding  temper.  Difficulties 
of  old  standing  have  been  surmounted  by  friendly  dis 
cussion,  and  the  mutual  desire  to  be  just ;  and  the  claims 
of  our  citizens,  which  had  been  long  withheld,  have  at 
length  been  acknowledged  and  adjusted,  and  satisfactory 
arrangements  made  for  their  final  payment ;  and  with  a 
limited,  and  I  trust  a  temporary  exception,  our  relations 
with  every  foreign  power  are  now  of  the  most  friendly 
character — our  commerce  continually  expanding,  and  our 
flag  respected  in  every  quarter  of  the  world. 

These  cheering  and  grateful  prospects,  and  these  mul 
tiplied  favors,  we  owe,  under  Providence,  to  the  adoption 
of  the  Federal  Constitution.  It  is  no  longer  a  question 
whether  this  great  country  can  remain  happily  united, 
and  flourish  under  our  present  form  of  government.  Ex 
perience,  the  unerring  test  of  all  human  undertakings, 
has  shown  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of  those  who  formed 
it ;  and  has  proved,  that  in  the  union  of  these  states  there 
is  a  sure  foundation  for  the  brightest  hopes  of  freedom,  and 
for  the  happiness  of  the  people.  At  every  hazard,  and 
by  every  sacrifice,  this  Union  must  be  preserved. 

The  necessity  of  watching  with  jealous  anxiety,  for  the 
preservation  of  the.  Union,  was  earnestly  pressed  upon  his 
fellow-citizens  by  the  Father  of  his  country,  in  his  fare 
well  address.-  He  has  there  told  us,  that  "while  ex 
perience  shall  not  have  demonstrated  its  impracticability, 
there  will  always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  of 
those  who,  in  any  quarter,  may  endeavor  to  weaken  its 
bonds ;"  and  he  has  cautioned  us,  in  the  strongest  terms, 
against  the  formation  of  parties  on  geographical  discrimi- 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  253 

nations,  as  one  of  the  means  which  might  disturb  our 
Union,  and  to  which  designing  men  would  be  likely  to 
resort. 

The  lessons  contained  in  this  invaluable  legacy  of  Wash 
ington  to  his  countrymen,  should  be  cherished  in  the  heart 
of  every  citizen  to  the  latest  generation ;  and,  perhaps,  at 
no  period  of  time  could  they  be  more  usefully  remembered 
than  at  the  present  moment.  For  when  we  look  upon 
the  scenes  that  are  passing  around  us,  and  dwell  upon  the 
pages  of  his  parting  address,  his  paternal  counsels  would 
seem  to  be  not  merely  the  offspring  of  wisdom/ and  fore 
sight,  but  the  voice  of  prophecy  foretelling  events  and 
warning  us  of  the  evil  to  come.  Forty  years  have  passed 
since  this  imperishable  document  was  given  to  his  coun 
trymen.  The  Federal  Constitution  was  then  regarded  by 
him  as  an  experiment,  and  he  so  speaks  of  it  in  his 
address  ;  but  an  experiment  upon  the  success  of  which  the 
best  hopes  of  his  country  depended,  and  we  all  know  that 
he  was  prepared  to  lay  down  his  life,  if  necessary,  to 
secure  to  it  a  full  and  fair  trial.  The  trial  has  been  made. 
It  has  succeeded  beyond  the  proudest  hopes  of  those  who 
framed  it.  Every  quarter  of  this  widely  extended  nation 
has  felt  its  blessings,  and  shared  in  the  general  prosperity 
produced  by  its  adoption.  But  amid  this  general  prosper 
ity  and  splendid  success,  the  dangers  of  which  he  warned 
us  are  becoming  every  day  more  evident,  and  the  signs  of 
evil  are  sufficiently  apparent  to  awaken  the  deepest 
anxiety  in  the  bosom  of  the  patriot.  We  hold  systematic 
efforts  publicly  made  to  sow  the  seeds  of  discord  between 
different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  to  place  party 
divisions  directly  upon  geographical  distinctions  ;  to  excite 
the  South  against  the  North,  and  the  North  against  the 
South,  and  to  force  into  the  controversy  the  most  deli 
cate  and  exciting  topics  upon  which  it  is  impossible  that 
a  large  portion  of  the  Union  can  ever  speak  without 
strong  emotions.  Appeals,  too,  are  constantly  made  to 
sectional  interests,  in  order  to  influence  the  election  of 
the  Chief  Magistrate,  as  if  it  were  desired  that  he  should 
favor  a  particular  quarter  of  the  country,  instead  of  fulfil 
ling  the  duties  of  his  station  with  impartial  justice  to  all ; 


354  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

and  the  possible  dissolution  of  the  Union  has  at  length 
become  an  ordinary  and  familiar  subject  of  discussion 
Has  the  warning  voice  of  Washington  been  forgotten? 
or  have  designs  already  been  formed  to  sever  the  Union  ? 
Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  I  impute  to  all  of  those  who 
have  taken  an  active  part  in  these  unwise  and  unprofitable 
discussions,  a  want  of  patriotism  or  of  public  virtue.  The 
honorable  feeling  of  state  pride,  and  local  attachments, 
find  a  place  in  the  bosoms  of  the  most  enlightened  and 
pure.  But  while  such  men  are  conscious  of  their  own 
integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose,  they  ought  never  to  forget 
.  that  the  citizens  of  other  states  are  their  political  brethren ; 
and  that,  however  mistaken  they  may  be  in  their  views, 
the  great  body  of  them  are  equally  honest  and  upright 
with  themselves.  Mutual  suspicions  and  reproaches  may 
in  time  create  mutual  hostility,  and  artful  and  designing 
men  will  always  be  found,  who  are  ready  to  foment  these 
fatal  divisions,  and  to  inflame  the  natural  jealousies  of 
different  sections  of  the  country.  The  history  of  the 
world  is  full  of  such  examples,  and  especially  the  history 
of  republics. 

What  have  you  to  gain  by  division  and  dissension  ? 
Delude  not  yourselves  with  the  belief  that  a  breach  once 
made,  may  be  afterwards  repaired.  If  the  Union  is  once 
severed,  the  line  of  separation  will  grow  wider  and  wider, 
and  the  controversies  which  are  now  debated  and  settled 
in  the  halls  of  legislation,  will  then  be  tried  in  fields  of 
battle,  and  be  determined  by  the  sword.  Neither  should 
you  deceive  yourselves  with  the  hope,  that  the  first  line 
of  separation  would  be  the  permanent  one,  and  that  no 
thing  but  harmony  and  concord  would  be  found  in  the  new 
associations,  formed  upon  the  dissolution  of  this  Union. 
Local  interests  would  still  be  found  there,  and  unchastened 
ambition.  And  if  the  recollection  of  common  dangers,  in 
which  the  people  of  these  United  States  stood  side  by 
side  against  the  common  foe  ;  the  memory  of  victories 
won  by  their  united  valor  ;  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
they  have  enjoyed  under  the  present  Constitution  ;  the 
proud  name  they  bear  as  citizens  of  this  great  republic , 
if  ail  these  recollections  and  proofs  of  common  interest  are 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  355 

not  strong1  enough  to  bind  us  together  as  one  people,  what 
tie  will  hold  united  the  new  divisions  of  empire,  when 
these  bonds  have  been  broken  and  this  Union  dissevered? 
The  first  line  of  separation  would  not  last  for  a  single 
generation  ;  new  fragments  would  be  torn  off;  new  lead 
ers  would  spring  up  ;  and  this  great  and  glorious  republic 
would  soon  be  broken  into  a  multitude  of  petty  states ; 
without  commerce,  without  credit ;  jealous  of  one  another ; 
armed  for  mutual  aggressiorf ;  loaded  with  taxes  to  pay 
armies  and  leaders ;  seeking  aid  against  each  other  from 
foreign  powers;  insulted  and  trampled  upon  by  the_  na 
tions  of  Europe,  until,  harassed  with  conflicts,  and  hum 
bled  and  debased  in  spirit,  they  would  be  ready  to  submit 
to  the  absolute  dominion  of  any  military  adventurer,  and 
to  surrender  their  liberty  for  the  sake  of  repose.  It  is 
impossible  to  look  on  the  consequences  that  would  inevita 
bly  follow  the  destruction  of  this  government,  and  not  feel 
indignant  when  we  hear  cold  calculations  about  the  value 
of  the  Union,  and  have  so  constantly  before  us  a  line  of 
conduct  so  well  calculated  to  weaken  its  ties. 

There  is  too  much 'at  stake  to  allow  pride  or  passion  to 
influence  your  decision.  Never  for  a  moment  believe  that 
the  great  body  of  the  citizens  of  any  state  or  states  can 
deliberately  intend  to  do  wrong.  They  may,  under  the 
influence  of  temporary  excitement  or  misguided  opinions, 
commit  mistakes ;  they  may  be  misled  for  a  time  by  the 
suggestions  of  self-interest ;  but  in  a  community  so  en 
lightened  and  patriotic  as  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
argument  will  soon  make  them  sensible  of  their  errors ; 
and  when  convinced,  they  will  be  ready  to  repair  them. 
If  they  have  no  higher  or  better  motives  to  govern  them, 
they  will  at  least  perceive  that  their  own  interest  requires 
them  to  be  just  to  others,  as  they  hope  to  receive  justice 
at  their  hands. 

But  in  order  to  maintain  the  Union  unimpaired,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  the  laws  passed  by  the  consti 
tuted  authorities,  should  be  faithfully  executed  in  every 
part  of  the  country,  and  that  every  good  citizen  should,  at 
all  times,  stand  ready  to  put  down,  with  the  combined 
force  of  the  nation,  every  attempt  at  unlawful  resistance, 
16 


356  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

under  whatever  pretext  it  may  be  made,  or  whatevei 
shape  it  may  assume.  Unconstitutional  or  oppressive 
laws  may  no  doubt  be  passed  by  Congress,  either  from 
erroneous  views,  or  the  want  of  due  consideration  ;  if 
they  are  within  reach  of  judicial  authority,  the  remedy  is 
easy  and  peaceful ;  and  if,  from  the  character  of  the  law, 
it  is  an  abuse  of  power  not  within  the  control  of  the  ju 
diciary,  then  free  discussion  and  calm  appeals  to  reason 
and  to  the  justice  of  the  peddle,  will  not  fail  to  redress  the 
wrong.  But  until  the  law  shall  be  declared  void  by  the 
courts,  or  repealed  by  Congress,  no  individual  or  combi 
nation  of  individuals,  can  be  justified  in  forcibly  resisting 
its  execution.  It  is  impossible  that  any  government  can 
continue  to  exist  upon  any  other  principles.  It  would 
cease  to  be  a  government,  and  be  unworthy  of  the  name, 
if  it  had  not  the  power  to  enforce  the  execution  of  its  own 
laws  within  its  own  sphere  of  action. 

It  is  true  that  cases  may  be  imagined,  disclosing  such 
a  settled  purpose  of  usurpation  and  oppression,  on  the 
part  of  the  government,  as  would  justify  an  appeal  to 
arms.  These,  however,  are  extreme  cases,  which  we 
have  no  reason  to  apprehend  in  a  government  where  the 
power  is  in  the  hands  of  a  patriotic  people  ;  and  no  citi 
zen  who  loves  his  country  would,  in  any  case  whatever, 
resort  to  forcible  resistance,  unless  he  clearly  saw  that  the 
time  had  come  when  a  freeman  should  prefer  death  to 
submission  ;  for  if  such  a  struggle  is  once  begun,  and  the 
citizens  of  one  section  of  the  country  arrayed  in  arms 
against  those  of  another,  in  doubtful  conflict,  let  the  battle 
result  as  it  may,  there  will  be  an  end  of  the  Union,  and 
with  it  an  end  of  the  hopes  of  freedom.  The  victory  of 
tho  injured  would  not  secure  to  them  the  blessings  of 
liberty ;  it  would  avenge  their  wrongs,  but  they  would 
themselves  share  in  the  common  ruin. 

But  the  Constitution  cannot  be  maintained,  nor  the 
Union  preserved  in  opposition  to  public  feeling,  by  the 
mere  exertion  of  the  coercive  powers  confided  to  the  gene 
ral  government.  The  foundations  must  be  laid  in  the 
affections  of  the  people ;  in  th«  security  it  gives  to  life, 
liberty,  character,  and  property,  in  every  quarter  of  the 
country  ;  and  in  the  fraternal  attachments  which  the  citi- 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  357 

zens  of  the  several  states  bear  to  one  another,  as  members 
of  one  political  family,  naturally  contributing  to  promote 
the  happiness  of  each  other.  Hence,  the  citizens  of  every 
state  should  studiously  avoid  every  thing  calculated  to 
wound  the  sensibility  or  offend  the  just  pride  of  the  people 
of  other  states  ;  and  they  should  frown  upon  any  proceed 
ings  within  their  own  borders  likely  to  disturb  the  tran 
quillity  of  their  political  brethren  in  other  portions  of  the 
Union.  In  a  country  so  extensive  as  the  United  States, 
and  with  pursuits  so  varied,  the  internal  regulations  of  the 
several  states  must  frequently  differ  from  one  another  in 
important  particulars  ;  and  this  difference  is  unavoidably 
increased  by  the  varying  principles  upon  which  the  Ameri 
can  colonies  were  originally  planted ;  principles  which 
had  taken  deep  root  in  their  social  relations  before  the 
Revolution,  and  therefore,  of  necessity,  influencing  their 
policy  since  they  became  free  and  independent  states. 
But  each  state  has  the  unquestionable  right  to  regulate 
its  own  internal  concerns  according  to  its  own  pleasure ; 
and  while  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  the 
people  of  other  states,  or  the  rights  of  the  Union,  every 
state  must  be  the  sole  judge  of  the  measures  proper»to 
secure  the  safety  of  its  citizens  and  promote  their  happi 
ness  ;  and  all  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  other 
states  to  cast  odium  upon  their  institutions,  and  all  mea 
sures  calculated  to  disturb  their  rights  of  property,  or  to 
put  in  jeopardy  their  peace  and  internal  tranquillity,  are 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  spirit  in  which  the  Union  was 
formed,  and  must  endanger  its  safety.  Motives  of  phi 
lanthropy  may  be  assigned  for  this  unwarrantable  inter 
ference  ;  and  weak  men  may  persuade  themselves  for  a 
moment  that  they  are  laboring  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
and  asserting  the  rights  of  the  human  race ;  but  every 
one,  upon  sober  reflection,  will  see  that  nothing  but  mis 
chief  can  come  from  these  improper  assaults  upon  the 
feelings  and  rights  of  others.  Rest  assured,  that  the  men 
found  busy  in  this  work  of  discord  are  not  worthy  of  your 
confidence,  and  deserve  your  strongest  reprobation. 

In  the  legislation  of  Congress,  also,  and  in  every  mea 
sure  of  the  general  government,  justice  to  every  portion 


358  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

of  the  United  States  should  be  faithfully  observed.  No 
free  government  can  stand  without  virtue  in  the  people, 
and  a  lofty  spirit  of  patriotism ;  and  if  the  sordid  feelings 
of  mere  selfishness  shall  usurp  the  place  which  ought  to 
be  filled  by  public  spirit,  the  legislation  of  Congress  will 
soon  be  converted  into  a  scramble  for  personal  and  sec 
tional  advantages.  Under  our  free  institutions,  the  citizens 
of  every  quarter  of  our  country  are  capable  of  attaining  a 
high  degree  of  prosperity  and  happiness,  without  seeking 
to  profit  themselves  at  the  expense  of  others  ;  and  every 
such  attempt  must,  in  the  end,  fail  to  succeed ;  for  the 
people  in  every  part  of  the  United  States  are  too  enlight 
ened  not  to  understand  their  own  rights  and  interests,  and 
to  detect  and  defeat  every  effort  to  gain  undue  advantages 
over  them ;  and  when  such  designs  are  discovered,  it 
naturally  provokes  resentments  which  cannot  always  be 
allayed.  Justice,  full  and  ample  justice,  to  every  portion 
of  the  United  States,  should  be  the  ruling  principle  of 
every  freeman,  and  should  guide  the  deliberations  of  every 
public  body,  whether  it  be  state  or  national. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  have  always  been  those 
among  us  who  wish  to  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  general 
government ;  and  experience  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  this  government  to  over 
step  the  boundaries  marked  out  for  it  by  the  Constitution. 
Its  legitimate  authority  is  abundantly  sufficient  for  all  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  created  :  and  its  powers  being 
expressly  enumerated,  there  can  be  no  justification  for 
claiming  any  thing  beyond  them.  Every  attempt  to 
exercise  power  beyond  these  limits  should  be  promptly 
and  firmly  opposed.  For  one  evil  example  will  lead  to 
other  measures  still  more  mischievous  ;  and  if  the  prin 
ciple  of  constructive  powers,  or  supposed  advantages,  or 
temporary  circumstances,  shall  ever  be  permitted  to  justify 
the  assumption  of  a  power  not  given  by  the  Constitution, 
the  general  government  will  before  long  absorb  all  the 
powers  of  legislation,  and  you  will  have,  in  effect,  but  one 
consolidated  government.  From  the  extent  of  our  coun 
try,  its  diversified  interests,  different  pursuits,  and  dif 
ferent  habits,  it  is  too  obvious  for  argument  that  a  single 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  359 

consolidated  government  would  be  wholly  inadequate  to 
watch  over  and  protect  its  interests  ;  and  every  friend  of 
our  free  institutions  should  be  always  prepared  to  main 
tain  unimpaired  and  in  full  vigor  the  rights  and  sove 
reignty  of  the  states,  and  to  confine  the  action  of  the 
general  government  strictly  to  the  sphere  of  its  appro 
priate  duties. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  one  of  the  powers  conferred  on 
he  federal  government  so  liable  to  abuse  as  the  taxing 
power.  The  most  productive  and  convenient  sources  of 
revenue  were  necessarily  given  to  it,  that  it  might  be 
able  to  perform  the  important  duties  imposed  upon  it; 
and  the  taxes  which  it  lays  upon  commerce  being  con 
cealed  from  the  real  payer  in  the  price  of  the  article,  they 
do  not  so  readily  attract  the  attention  of  the  people  as 
smaller  sums  demanded  from  them  directly  by  the  tax- 
gatherer.  But  the  tax  imposed  on  goods,  enhances  by  so 
much  the  price  of  the  commodity  to  the  consumer;  and 
as  many  of  these  duties  are  imposed  on  articles  of  neces 
sity  which  are  daily  used  by  the  great  body  of  the  people, 
the  money  raised  by  these  imposts  is  drawn  from  their 
pockets.  Congress  has  no  right  under  the  Constitution 
to  take  money  from  the  people,  unless  it  is  required  to 
execute  some  one  of  the  specific  powers  intrusted  to  the 
government ;  and  if  they  raise  more  than  is  necessary  for 
such  purposes,  it  is  an  abuse  of  the  power  of  taxation,  and 
unjust  and  oppressive.  It  may  indeed  happen  that  the 
revenue  will  sometimes  exceed  the  amount  anticipated 
when  the  taxes  were  laid.  When,  however,  this  is  as 
certained,  it  is  easy  to  reduce  them ;  and,  in  such  a  case, 
it  is  unquestionably  the  duty  of  the  government  to  reduce 
them,  for  no  circumstances  can  justify  it  in  assumiug  a 
power  not  given  to  it  by  the  Constitution,  nor  in  taking 
away  the  money  of  the  people  when  it  is  not  needed  for 
the  legitimate  wants  of  the  government. 

Plain  as  these  principles  appear  to  be,  you  will  yet  find 
that  there  is  a  constant  effort  to  induce  the  general  govern 
ment  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  its  taxing  power,  and  to 
impose  unnecessary  burdens  upon  the  people.  Many 
powerful  interests  are  continually  at  work  to  procure  heavy 


360  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

duties  on  commerce,  and  to  swell  the  revenue  beyond  the 
real  necessities  of  the  public  service  ;  and  the  country 
has  already  felt  the  injurious  effects  of  their  combined 
influence.  They  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  tariff  of  duties 
bearing  most  oppressively  on  the  agricultural  and  laboring 
classes  of  society,  and  producing  a  revenue  that  could  not 
be  usefully  employed  within  the  range  of  the  powers 
conferred  upon  Congress  ;  and  in  order  to  fasten  upon  the 
people  this  unjust  and  unequal  system  of  taxation,  extra 
vagant  schemes  of  internal  improvement  were  got  up,  in 
various  quarters,  to  squander  the  money  and  to  purchase 
support.  Thus,  one  unconstitutional  measure  was  in 
tended  to  be  upheld  by  another,  and  the  abuse  of  the 
power  of  taxation  was  to  be  maintained  by  usurping  the 
power  of  expending  the  money  in  internal  improvements. 
You  cannot  have  forgotten  the  severe  and  doubtful  struggle 
through  which  we  passed,  when  the  executive  department 
of  the  government,  by  its  veto,  endeavored  to  arrest  the 
prodigal  scheme  of  injustice,  and  to  bring  back  the  legis 
lation  of  Congress  to  the  boundaries  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution.  The  good  sense  and  practical  judgment  of 
the  people,  when  the  subject  was  brought  before  them, 
sustained  the  course  of  the  Executive,  and  this  plan  of 
unconstitutional  expenditure  for  the  purposes  of  corrupt 
influence  is,  I  trust,  finally  overthrown. 

The  result  of  this  decision  has  been  felt  in  the  rapid 
extinguishment  of  the  public  debt,  and  the  large  accumu 
lation  of  a  surplus  in  the  treasury,  notwithstanding  the 
tariff  was  reduced,  and  is  now  far  below  the  amount  ori 
ginally  contemplated  by  its  advocates.  But,  rely  upon  it, 
the  design  to  collect  an  extravagant  revenue,  and  to  burden 
you  with  taxes  beyond  the  .economical  wants  of  the  govern 
ment,  is  not  yet  abandoned.  The  various  interests  which 
have  combined  together  to  impose  a  heavy  tariff,  and  to 
produce  an  overflowing  treasury,  are  too  strong,  and  have 
too  much  at  stake,  to  surrender  the  contest.  The  corpo 
rations  and  wealthy  individuals  who  are  engaged  in  large 
manufacturing  establihsments,  desire  a  high  tariff  to  in 
crease  their  gains.  Designing  politicians  will  support  it  to 
conciliate  their  favor,  and  to  obtain  the  means  of  profuse 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  <>Ol 

expenditure,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  influence  in 
other  quarters ;  and  since  the  people  have  decided  that 
the  federal  government  cannot  be  permitted  to  employ  its 
income  in  internal  improvements,  efforts  will  be  made  to 
seduce  and  mislead  the  citizens  of  the  several  states,  by 
holding  out  to  them  the  deceitful  prospect  of  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  a  surplus  revenue  collected  by  the 
general  government,  and  annually  divided  among  the 
states.  And  if,  encouraged  by  these  fallacious  hopes,  the 
states  should  disregard  the  principles  of  economy  which 
ought  to  characterize  every  republican  government,  and 
should  indulge  in  lavish  expenditures  exceeding  their 
resources,  they  will,  before  long,  find  themselves  oppressed 
with  debts  which  they  are  unable  to  pay,  and  the  tempta 
tion  will  become  irresistible  to  support  a  high  tariff,  in 
order  to  obtain  a  surplus  distribution.  Do  not  allow  your 
selves,  my  fellow-citizens,  to  be  misled  on  this  subject. 
The  federal  government  cannot  collect  a  surplus  for  such 
purposes,  without  violating  the  principles  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  assuming  powers  which  have  not  been  granted. 
It  is,  moreover,  a  system  of  injustice,  and,  if  persisted  in, 
will  inevitably  lead  to  corruption,  and  must  end  in  ruin. 
The  surplus  revenue  will  be  drawn  from  the  pockets  of 
the  people — from  the  farmer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  laboring 
classes  of  society;  but  who  will  receive  it  when  distributed 
among  the  states,  where  it  is  to  be  disposed  of  by  leading 
state  politicians  who  have  friends  to  favor,  and  political  par 
tisans  to  gratify  ?  It  will  certainly  not  be  returned  to  those 
who  paid  it,  and  who  have  most  need  of  it,  and  are  ho 
nestly  entitled  to  it.  There  is  but  one  safe  rule,  and  that 
is,  to  confine  the  general  government  rigidly  within  the 
sphere  of  its  appropriate  duties.  It  has  no  power  to  raise 
a  revenue,  or  impose  taxes,  except  for  the  purposes  enu 
merated  in  the  Constitution  ;  and  if  its  income  is  found  to 
3xceed  these  wants,  it  should  be  forthwith  reduced,  and 
the  burdens  of  the  people  so  far  lightened. 

In  reviewing  the  conflicts  which  have  taken  place  be 
tween  different  interests  in  the  United  States,  and  tht 
policy  pursued  since  the  adoption  of  our  present  form  of 
government,  we  find  nothing  that  has  produced  such  deep- 


362  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

seated  evil  as  the  course  of  legislation  in  relation  to  the 
currency.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  unques 
tionably  intended  to  secure  the  people  a  circulating  me 
dium  of  gold  and  silver.  But  the  establishment  of  a 
national  bank  by  Congress,  with  the  privilege  of  issuing 
paper  money  receivable  in  payment  of  the  public  dues, 
and  the  unfortunate  course  of  legislation  in  the  several 
states,  upon  the  same  subject,  drove  from  general  circula 
tion  the  constitutional  currency,  and  substituted  one  of 
paper  in  its  place. 

It  was  not  easy  for  men  engaged  in  the  ordinary  pur 
suits  of  business,  whose  attention  had  not  been  particularly 
drawn  to  the  subject,  to  foresee  all  the  consequences  of 
a  currency  exclusively  of  paper ;  and  we  ought  not,  on 
that  account,  to  be  surprised  at  the  facility  with  which 
laws  were  obtained  to  carry  into  effect  the  paper  system. 
Honest,  and  even  enlightened  men,  are  sometimes  misled 
by  the  specious  and  plausible  statements  of  the  designing. 
But  experience  has  now  proved  the  mischiefs  and  dangers 
of  a  paper  currency,  and  it  rests  with  you  to  determine 
whether  the  proper  remedy  shall  be  applied. 

The  paper  system  being  founded  on  public  confidence, 
and  having  of  itself  no  intrinsic  value,  it  is  liable  to  great 
and  sudden  fluctuations,  thereby  rendering  property  inse 
cure,  and  the  wages  of  labor  unsteady  and  uncertain.  The 
corporations  wrhich  create  the  paper  money  cannot  be 
relied  upon  to  keep  the  circulating  medium  uniform  in 
amount.  In  times  of  prosperity,  when  confidence  is  high, 
they  are  tempted  by  the  prospect  of  gain,  or  by  the  in 
fluence  of  those  who  hope  to  profit  by  it,  to  extend  their 
issues  of  paper  beyond  the  bounds  of  discretion  and  the 
reasonable  demands  of  business.  And  when  these  issues 
have  been  pushed  on,  from  day  to  day,  until  public  con 
fidence  is  at  length  shaken,  then  a  reaction  takes  place, 
and  they  immediately  withdraw  the  credits  they  have 
given ;  suddenly  curtail  their  issues,  and  produce  an  un 
expected  and  ruinous  contraction  of  the  circulating  medium, 
which  is  felt  by  the  whole  community.  The  banks  by 
this  means  save  themselves,  and  the  mischievous  conse 
quences  of  their  imprudence  or  cupidity  are  visited  upon 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  363 

the  public.  Nor  does  the  evil  stop  here.  These  ebbs  and 
flows  of  the  currency,  and  these  indiscreet  extensions  of 
credit,  naturally  engender  a  spirit  of  speculation  injurious 
to  the  habits  and  character  of  the  people.  We  have 
already  seen  its  effects  in  the  wild  spirit  of  speculation  in 
the  public  lands,  and  various  kinds  of  stocks,  which,  with 
in  the  last  year  or  two,  seized  upon  such  a  multitude  of 
our  citizens,  and  threatened  to  pervade  all  classes  of  society, 
and  to  withdraw  their  attention  from  the  sober  pursuits  of 
honest  industry.  It  is  not  by  encouraging  this  spirit  that 
we  shall  best  preserve  public  virtue,  and  promote  the 
true  interests  of  our  country.  But  if  your  currency  con 
tinues  as  exclusively  paper  as  it  now  is,  it  will  foster  this 
eager  desire  to  amass  wealth  without  labor;  it  will  multi 
ply  the  number  of  dependents  on  bank  accommodations 
and  bank  favors ;  the  temptation  to  obtain  money  at  any 
sacrifice,  will  become  stronger  and  stronger,  and  inevita 
bly  lead  to  corruption,  which  will  find  its  way  into  your 
public  councils,  and  destroy,  at  no  distant  day,  the  purity 
of  your  government.  Some  of  the  evils  which  arise  from 
this  system  of  paper,  press  with  peculiar  hardship  upon 
the  class  of  society  least  able  to  bear  it.  A  portion  of  this 
currency  frequently  becomes  depreciated  or  worthless,  and 
all  of  it  is  easily  counterfeited,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
require  peculiar  skill  and  much  experience  to  distinguish 
the  counterfeit  from  the  genuine  notes. 

These  frauds  are  most  generally  perpetrated  in  the 
smaller  notes,  which  are  used  in  the  daily  transactions  of 
ordinary  business  ;  and  the  losses  occasioned  by  them  are 
commonly  thrown  upon  the  laboring  classes  of  society, 
whose  situation  and  pursuits  put  it  out  of  their  power  to 
guard  themselves  from  these  impositions,  and  whose  daily 
wages  are  necessary  for  their  subsistence.  It  is  the  duty 
of  every  government,  so  to  regulate  its  currency  as  to 
protect  this  numerous  class,  as  far  as  practicable,  from  the 
impositions  of  avarice  and  fraud.  It  is  more  especially 
the  duty  of  the  United  States,  where  the  government  is 
emphatically  the  government  of  the  people,  and  where 
this  respectable  portion  of  our  citizens  are  so  proudly 
distinguished  from  the  laboring  classes  of  all  other  nations, 
16* 


364  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

by  their  independent  spirit,  their  love  of  liberty,  their 
intelligence,  and  their  high  tone  of  moral  character.  Their 
industry  in  peace  is  the  source  of  our  wealth ;  their  bravery 
in  war  has  covered  us  with  glory  ;  and  the  government 
of  the  United  States  will  but  ill  discharge  its  duties,  if  it 
leaves  them  a  prey  to  such  dishonest  impositions.  Yet  it 
is  evident  that  their  interests  cannot  be  effectually  pro 
tected,  unless  silver  and  gold  are  restored  to  circulation. 

These  views,  alone,  of  the  paper  currency,  are  suffi 
cient  to  call  for  immediate  reform ;  but  there  is  another 
consideration  which  should  still  more  strongly  press  it 
upon  your  attention. 

Recent  events  have  proved  that  the  paper  money  system 
of  this  country  may  be  used  as  an  engine  to  undermine 
your  free  institutions ;  and  that  those  who  desire  to  en 
gross  all  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  and  to  govern  by 
corruption  or  force,  are  aware  of  its  power,  and  prepared 
to  employ  it.  Your  banks  now  furnish  your  only  circu 
lating  medium,  and  money  is  plenty  or  scarce,  according 
to  the  quantity  of  notes  issued  by  them.  While  they 
have  capitals  not  greatly  disproportionate  to  each  other, 
they  are  competitors  in  business,  and  no  one  of  them  can 
exercise  dominion  over  the  rest ;  and  although,  in  the 
present  state  of  the  currency,  these  banks  may  and  do 
operate  injuriously  upon  the  habits  of  business,  the  pe 
cuniary  concerns,  and  the  moral  tone  of  society  ;  yet,  from 
their  number  and  dispersed  situation,  they  cannot  com 
bine  for  the  purposes  of  political  influence  ;  and  whatever 
may  be  the  dispositions  of  some  of  them,  their  power  of 
mischief  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  a  narrow  space, 
and  felt  only  in  their  immediate  neighborhoods. 

But  when  the  charter  for  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
was  obtained  from  Congress,  it  perfected  the  schemes  of 
the  paper  system,  and  gave  to  its  advocates  the  position 
they  have  struggled  to  obtain  from  the  commencement  of 
the  federal  government  down  to  the  present  hour.  The 
immense  capital  and  peculiar  privileges  bestowed  upon  it, 
enabled  it  to  exercise  despotic  sway  over  the  other  banks 
in  every  part  of  the  country.  From  its  superior  strength, 
it  could  seriously  injure,  if  not  destroy,  the  business  of 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  365 

any  one  of  them  which  might  incur  its  resentment ;  and 
it  openly  claimed  for  itself  the  power  of  regulating  the 
currency  throughout  the  United  States.  In  other  words, 
it  asserted  (and  undoubtedly  possessed)  the  power  to  make 
money  plenty  or  scarce,  at  its  pleasure,  at  any  time,  and 
in  any  quarter  of  the  Union,  by  controlling  the  issues  of 
other  banks,  and  permitting  an  expansion,  or  compelling 
a  general  contraction,  of  the  circulating  medium,  according 
to  its  own  will.  The  other  banking  institutions  were  sensible 
of  its  strength,  and  they  soon  generally  became  its  obedient 
instruments,  ready  at  all  times  to  execute  its  mandates  ; 
and  with  the  banks  necessarily  went  also  that  numerous 
class  of  persons  in  our  commercial  cities  who  depend  alto 
gether  on  bank  credits  for  their  solvency  and  means  of 
business,  and  who  are  therefore  obliged,  for  their  own 
safety,  to  propitiate  the  favor  of  the  money  power  by  dis 
tinguished  zeal  and  devotion  in  its  service.  The  result 
of  the  ill-advised  legislation  which  established  this  great 
monopoly,  was  to  concentrate  the  whole  moneyed  power 
of  the  Union,  with  its  boundless  means  of  corruption,  and 
its  numerous  dependents,  under  the  direction  and  com 
mand  of  one  acknowledged  head  ;  thus  organizing  this 
particular  interest  as  one  body,  and  securing  to  it  unity 
and  concert  of  action  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
enabling  it  to  bring  forward,  upon  any  occasion,  its  entire 
and  undivided  strength  to  support  or  defeat  any  measure 
of  the  government.  In  the  hands  of  this  formidable  power, 
thus  perfectly  organized,  was  also  placed  unlimited  do 
minion  over  the  amount  of  the  circulating  medium,  giving 
it  the  power  to  regulate  the  value  of  property  and  the 
fruits  of  labor  in  every  quarter  of  the  Union ;  and  to  be 
stow  prosperity,  or  bring  ruin  upon  any  city  or  section 
of  the  country,  as  might  best  comport  with  its  own  interest 
r  policy. 

We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  how  the  moneyed  power, 
thus  organized,  and  with  such  a  weapon  in  its  hands, 
would  be  likely  to  use  it.  The  distress  and  alarm  which 
pervaded  and  agitated  the  whole  country,  when  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  waged  war  upon  the  people  in  order 
to  compel  them  to  submit  to  its  demands,  cannot  yet  be 


366  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

forgotten.  The  ruthless  and  unsparing  temper  with  wh  eh 
whole  cities  and  communities  were  oppressed,  individuals 
impoverished  and  ruined,  and  a  scene  of  cheerful  pros 
perity  suddenly  changed  into  one  of  gloom  and  despond 
ency,  ought  to  be  indelibly  impressed  on  the  memory  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States.  If  such  was  its  power  in 
a  time  of  peace,  what  would  it  not  have  been  in  a  season 
of  war,  with  an  enemy  at  your  doors  ?  No  nation  but  the 
freemen  of  the  United  States  could  have  come  out  vic 
torious  from  such  a  contest ;  yet,  if  you  had  not  conquered, 
the  government  would  have  passed  from  the  hands  of  the 
many  to  the  hands  of  the  few ;  and  this  organized  money 
power,  from  its  secret  conclave,  would  have  dictated  the 
c-hoice  of  your  highest  officers,  and  compelled  you  to  make 
peace  or  war,  as  best  suited  their  own  wishes.  The  forms 
of  your  government  might  for  a  time  have  remained,  but 
its  living  spirit  would  have  departed  from  it. 

The  distress  and  sufferings  inflicted  on  the  people  by 
the  bank  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  that  system  of  policy 
which  is  continually  striving  to  enlarge  the  authority  of 
the  federal  government  beyond  the  limits  fixed  by  the 
Constitution.  The  powers  enumerated  in  that  instru 
ment  do  not  confer  on  Congress  the  right  to  establish  such 
a  corporation  as  the  Bank  of  the  United  States :  and  the 
evil  consequences  which  followed  may  warn  us  of  the 
danger  of  departing  from  the  true  rule  of  construction, 
and  of  permitting  temporary  circumstances,  or  the  hope 
of  better  promoting  the  public  welfare,  to  influence  in  any 
degree  our  decisions  upon  the  extent  of  the  authority  of 
the  general  government.  Let  us  abide  by  the  Constitu 
tion  as  it  is  written,  or  amend  it  in  the  constitutional  mode, 
if  it  is  found  to  be  defective. 

The  severe  lessons  of  experience  will,  I  doubt  not,  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  Congress  from  again  chartering  such 
a  monopoly,  even  if  the  Constitution  did  not  present  an 
insuperable  objection  to  it.  But  you  must  remember,  my 
fellow-citizens,  that  eternal  vigilance  by  the  people  is  the 
price  of  liberty ;  and  that  you  must  pay  the  price  if  you 
wish  to  secure  the  blessing.  It  behooves  you,  therefore, 
tr>  be  watchful  in  your  states,  as  well  as  in  the  federal 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  367 

government.  The  power  which  the  moneyed  interest 
can  exercise,  when  concentrated  under  a  single  head  and 
with  our  present  sys'^m  of  currency,  was  sufficiently  de 
monstrated  in  the  strug^  ••»  made  by  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States.  Defeated  in  the  general  government,  the  same 
class  of  intriguers  and  politicians  will  now  resort  to  the 
states,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  there  the  same  organiza 
tion,  which  they  failed  to  perpetuate  in  the  Union  ;  and 
with  specious  and  deceitful  plans  of  .public  advantages, 
and  state  interests,  and  state  pride,  they  will  endeavor  to 
establish,  in  the  different  states,  one  moneyed  institution 
with  overgrown  capital,  and  exclusive  privileges,  suffi 
cient  to  enable  it  to  control  the  operations  of  the  other 
banks.  Such  an  institution  will  be  pregnant  with  the 
same  evils  produced  by  the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
although  its  sphere  of  action  is  more  confined  ;  and  in  the 
state  in  which  it  is  chartered,  the  money  power  will  be 
able  to  embody  its  whole  strength,  and  to  move  together 
with  undivided  force,  to  accomplish  any  object  it  may 
wish  to  attain.  You  have  already  had  abundant  evidence 
of  its  power  to  inflict  injury  upon  the  agricultural,  me 
chanical,  and  laboring  classes  of  society  ;  and  over  those 
whose  engagements  in  trade  or  speculation  render  them 
dependent  on  bank  facilities,  the  dominion  of  the  state 
monopoly  will  be  absolute,  and  their  obedience  unlimited. 
With  such  a  bank,  and  a  paper  currency,  the  money 
power  would  in  a  few  years  govern  the  state  and  control 
its  measures  ;  and  if  a  sufficient  number  of  states  can  be 
induced  to  create  such  establishments,  the  time  will  soon 
come  when  it  will  again  take  the  field  against  the  United 
States,  and  succeed  in  perfecting  and  perpetuating  its 
organization  by  a  charter  from  Congress. 

It  is  one  of  the  serious  evils  of  our  present  system  of 
banking,  that  it  enables  one  class  of  society — and  that  by 
no  means  a  numerous  one — by  its  control  over  the  cur 
rency,  to  act  injuriously  upon  the  interests  of  all  the  others, 
and  to  exercise  more  than  its  just  proportion  of  influence 
in  political  affairs.  The  agricultural,  the  mechanical,  and 
the  laboring  classes,  have  little  or  no  share  in  the  direction 
of  the  great  moneyed  corporations ;  and  from  their  habits 


568  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

and  the  nature  of  their  pursuits,  they  are  incapable  of 
forming  extensive  combinations  to  act  together  with  united 
force.  Such  concert  of  action  may  sometimes  be  produced 
in  a  single  city,  or  in  a  small  disf  ~i  of  country,  by  means 
of  personal  communications  with  each  other ;  but  they  have 
no  regular  or  active  correspondence  with  those  who  are 
engaged  in  similar  pursuits  in  distant  places ;  they  have 
but  little  patronage  to  give  to  the  press,  and  exercise  but 
a  small  share  of  influence  over  it ;  they  have  no  crowd  of 
dependents  about  them,  who  hope  to  grow  rich  without 
labor,  by  their  countenance  and  favor,  and  who  are,  there 
fore,  always  ready  to  execute  their  wishes.  The  planter,  the 
farmer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  laborer,  all  know  that  their 
success  depends  upon  their  own  industry  and  economy, 
and  that  they  must  not  expect  to  become  suddenly  rich 
by  the  fruits  of  their  toil.  Yet  these  classes  of  society 
form  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  ; 
they  are  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  country ;  men  who 
love  liberty,  and  desire  nothing  but  equal  rights  and  equal 
laws,  and  who,  moreover,  hold  the  great  mass  of  our 
national  wealth,  although  it  is  distributed  in  moderate 
amounts  among  the  millions  of  freemen  who  possess  it. 
But  with  overwhelming  numbers  and  wealth  on  their  side, 
they  are  in  constant  danger  of  losing  their  fair  influence 
in  the  government,  and  with  difficulty  maintain  their  just 
rights  against  the  incessant  efforts  daily  made  to  encroach 
upon  them. 

The  mischief  springs  from  the  power  which  the  moneyed 
interest  derives  from  a  paper  currency,  which  they  are 
able  to  control,  from  the  multitude  of  corporations  with 
exclusive  privileges,  which  they  have  succeeded  in  ob 
taining  in  the  different  states,  and  which  are  employed 
altogether  for  their  benefit;  and  unless  you  become  more 
watchful  in  your  states,  and  check  this  spirit  of  mono 
poly  and  thirst  for  exclusive  privileges,  you  will,  in  the 
end,  find  that  the  most  important  powers  of  government 
have  been  given  or  bartered  away,  and  the  control  over 
your  dearest  interests  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  these 
corporations. 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  3(>9 

The  paper-money  system,  and  its  natural  associates, 
monopoly  and  exclusive  privileges,  have  already  struck 
their  roots  deep  in  the  soil ;  and  it  will  require  all  your 
efforts  to  check  its  farther  growth,  and  to  eradicate  the 
evil.  The  men  who  profit  by  the  abases,  and  desire  to 
perpetuate  them,  will  continue  to  besiege  the  halls  of  legis 
lation  in  the  general  government,  as  well  as  in  the  states, 
and  will  seek,  by  every  artifice,  to  mislead  and  deceive 
the  public  servants.  It  is  to  yourselves  that  you  must 
look  for  safety  and  the  means  of  guarding  and  perpetuat 
ing  your  free  institutions.  In  your  hands  is  rightfully 
placed  the  sovereignty  of  the  country,  and  to  you  every 
one  placed  in  authority  is  ultimately  responsible.  It  is 
always  in  your  power  to  see  that  the  wishes  of  the  people 
are  carried  into  faithful  execution,  and  their  will,  when 
once  made  known,  must  sooner  or  later  be  obeyed.  And 
while  the  people  remain,  as  I  trust  they  ever  will,  uncor- 
rupted  and  incorruptible,  and  continue  watchful  and  jealous 
of  their  rights,  the  government  is  safe,  and  the  cause  of 
freedom  will  continue  to  triumph  over  all  its  enemies.  But 
it  will  require  steady  and  persevering  exertions  on  your 
part  to  rid  yourselves  of  the  iniquities  and  mischiefs  of  the 
paper  system,  and  to  check  the  spirit  of  monopoly  and 
other  abuses,  which  have  sprung  up  with  it,  and  of  which 
it  is  the  main  support.  So  many  interests  are  united  to 
resist  all  reform  on  this  subject,  that  you  must  not  hope 
the  conflict  will  be  a  short  one,  nor  success  easy.  My 
humble  efforts  have  not  been  spared,  during  my  adminis 
tration  of  the  government,  to  restore  the  constitutional 
currency  of  gold  and  silver ;  and  something,  I  trust,  has 
been  done  towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  most  desir 
able  object.  But  enough  yet  remains  to  require  all  your 
nergy  and  perseverance.  The  power,  however,  is  in 
our  hands,  and  the  remedy  must  and  will  be  applied  if 
you  determine  upon  it. 

While  I  am  thus  endeavoring  to  press  upon  your  at 
tention  the  principles  which  I  deem  of  vital  importance  to 
the  domestic  concerns  of  the  country,  I  ought  not  to  pass 
over  without  notice  the  important  considerations  which 


370  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

should  govern  your  policy  towards  foreign  powers.  It  is 
unquestionably  our  true  interest  to  cultivate  the  most 
friendly  understanding  with  every  nation,  and  to  avoid, 
by  every  honorable  means,  the  calamities  of  war ;  and  we 
shall  best  attain  this  object  by  frankness  and  sincerity  in 
our  foreign  intercourse,  by  the  prompt  and  faithful  execu 
tion  of  treaties,  and  by  justice  and  impartiality  in  our 
conduct  to  all.  But  no  nation,  however  desirous  of  peace, 
can  hope  to  escape  collisions  with  other  powers  ;  and  tho 
soundest  dictates  of  policy  require  that  we  should  place 
ourselves  in  a  condition  to  assert  our  rights,  if  a  resort  to 
force  should  ever  become  necessary.  Our  local  situation, 
our  long  line  of  sea-coast,  indented  by  numerous  bays, 
with  deep  rivers  opening  into  the  interior,  as  well  as  our 
extended  and  still  increasing  commerce,  point  to  the  navy 
as  our  natural  means  of  defence.  It  will,  in  the  end,  be 
found  to  be  the  cheapest  and  most  effectual ;  and  now  is 
the  time,  in  the  season  of  peace,  and  with  an  overflowing 
revenue,  that  we  can  year  after  year  add  to  its  strength, 
without  increasing  the  burdens  of  the  people.  It  is  your 
true  policy.  For  your  navy  will  not  only  protect  your 
rich  and  flourishing  commerce  in  distant  seas,  but  enable 
you  to  reach  and  annoy  the  enemy,  and  will  give  to  defence 
its  greatest  efficiency  by  meeting  danger  at  a  distance 
from  home.  It  is  impossible  by  any  line  of  fortifications 
to  guard  every  point  from  attack  against  a  hostile  force 
advancing  from  the  ocean  and  selecting  its  object ;  but 
they  are  indispensable  to  protect  cities  from  bombard 
ment  ;  dock-yards  and  navy  arsenals  from  destruction ;  to 
give  shelter  to  merchant  vessels  in  time  of  war,  and  to 
single  ships  or  weaker  squadrons  when  pressed  by  supe 
rior  force.  Fortifications  of  this  description  cannot  be  too 
soon  completed  and  armed,  and  placed  in  a  condition  of 
the  most  perfect  preparation:  The  abundant  means  we 
now  possess  cannot  be  applied  in  any  manner  more  useful 
to  the  country ;  and  when  this  is  done,  and  our  naval 
force  sufficiently  strengthened,  and  our  militia  armed, 
we  need  not  fear  that  any  nation  will  wantonly  insult  us, 
or  needlessly  provoke  hostilities.  We  shall  more  certain- 


FAREWELL    ADDRESS.  37l 

fy  preserve  peace,  when  it  is  well  understood  that  we  are 
prepared  for  war. 

In  presenting  to  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  these  parting- 
counsels,  I  have  brought  before  you  the  leading  prin 
ciples  upon  which  I  endeavored  to  administer  the  govern 
ment  in  the  high  office  with  which  you  twice  honored 
me.  Knowing  that  the  path  of  freedom  is  continually 
beset  by  enemies,  who  often  assume  the  disguise  of 
friends,  I  have  devoted  the  last  hours  of  my  public  life 
to  warn  you  of  the  dangers.  The  progress  of  the  United 
States,  under  our  free  and  happy  institutions,  has  sur 
passed  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  the  founders  of  the 
Republic.  Our  growth  has  been  rapid  beyond  all  former 
example,  in  numbers,  in  wealth,  in  knowledge,  and  all 
the  useful  arts  which  contribute  to  the  comforts  and  con 
venience  of  man  ;  and  from  the  earliest  ages  of  history  to 
the  present  day,  there  never  have  been  thirteen  millions 
of  people  associated  together  in  one  political  body,  who 
enjoyed  so  much  freedom  and  happiness  as  the  people  of 
these  United  States.  You  have  no  longer  any  cause  to 
fear  danger  from  abroad ;  your  strength  and  power  are 
well  known  throughout  the  civilized  world,  as  well  as  the 
high  and  gallant  bearing  of  your  sons.  It  is  from  within, 
among  yourselves,  from  cupidity,  from  corruption,  from 
disappointed  ambition,  and  inordinate  thirst  for  power, 
that,  factions  will  be  formed  and  liberty  endangered.  It 
is  against  such  designs,  whatever  disguise  the  actors  may 
assume,  that  you  have  especially  to  guard  yourselves. 
You  have  the  highest  of  human  trusts  committed  to  your 
care.  Providence  has  showered  on  this  favored  land 
blessings  without  number,  and  has  chosen  you  as  the 
guardians  of  freedom,  to  preserve  it  for  the  benefit  of  the 
human  race.  May  He,  who  holds  in  his  hands  the  des 
tinies  of  nations,  make  you  worthy  of  the  favors  he  has 
bestowed,  and  enable  you,  with  pure  hearts,  and  pure 
hands,  and  sleepless  vigilance,  to  guard  and  defend  to 
the  end  of  time  the  great  charge  he  has  committed  to 
your  keeping. 

My  own  race  is  nearly  run ;  advanced  age  and  failing 


372  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

health  warn  me  that  before  long  I  must  pass  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  events,  and  cease  to  feel  the  vicissitudes 
of  human  affairs.  I  thank  God  that  my  life  has  been 
spent  in  a  land  of  liberty,  and  that  he  has  given  me  a 
heart  to  love  my  country  with  the  affection  of  a  son.  And 
filled  with  gratitude  for  your  constant  and  unwavering 
kindness,  I  bid  you  a  last  and  affectionate  farewell. 


LETTER   TO    COMMODORE    ELLIOTT.  373 


General  Jackson's  Letter  to  Commodore  Elliott^  declining  a  Sarco 
phagus. 

Hermitage,  March  27,  1845. 

DEAR  SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  18th  instant,  together 
with  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  National  Institute, 
furnished  me  by  their  corresponding  secretary,  on  the 
presentation,  by  you,  of  the  Sarcophagus  for  their  accept 
ance,  on  condition  it  shall  be  preserved,  and  in  honor  of 
my  memory,  have  been  received,  and  are  now  before  me. 

Although  laboring  under  great  debility  and  affliction, 
•from  a  severe  attack  from  which  I  may  not  recover,  I  raise 
my  pen  and  endeavor  to  reply.  The  steadiness  of  my 
nerves  may  perhaps  lead  you  to  conclude  my  prostration 
of  strength  is  not  so  great  as  here  expressed.  Strange  as 
it  may  appear,  my  nerves  are  as  steady  as  they  were  forty 
years  gone  by ;  whilst,  from  debility  and  affliction,  I  am 
gasping  for  breath. 

I  have  read  the  whole  proceedings  of  the  presentation, 
by  you,  of  the  Sarcophagus,  and  the  resolutions  passed  by 
the  Board  of  Directors,  so  honorable  to  my  fame,  with 
sensations  and  feelings  more  easily  to  be  conjectured,  than 
by  me  expressed.  The  whole  proceedings  call  for  my 
most  grateful  thanks,  which  are  hereby  tendered  to  you, 
and  through  you  to  the  President  and  Directors  of  the 
National  Institute.  But  with  the  warmest  sensations  that 
can  inspire  a  grateful  heart,  I  must  decline  accepting  the 
honor  intended  to  be  bestowed.  I  cannot  consent  that  my 
mortal  body  shall  be  laid  in  a  repository  prepared  for  an 
emperor  or  a  king.  My  republican  feelings  and  principles 
forbid  it ;  the  simplicity  of  our  system  of  government  for 
bids  it.  Every  monument  erected  to  perpetuate  the  me 
mory  of  our  heroes  and  statesmen  ought  to  bear  evidence 
of  the  economy  and  simplicity  of  our  republican  institu 
tions,  and  the  plainness  of  our  republican  citizens,  who  i 


374  LIFE    OP   JACKSON. 

are  the  sovereigns  of  our  glorious  Union,  and  whose  virtue 
is  to  perpetuate  it.  True  virtue  cannot  exist  where  pomp 
and  parade  are  the  governing  passions :  it  can  only  dwell 
with  the  people — the  great  laboring  and  producing  classes 
that  form  the  bone  and  sinew  of  our  confederacy. 

For  these  reasons  I  cannot  accept  the  honor  you  and 
the  President  and  Directors  of  the  National  Institute  in 
tended  to  bestow.  I  cannot  permit  my  remains  to  be  the 
first  in  these  United  States  to  be  deposited  in  a  sarco 
phagus  made  for  an  emperor  or  king.  I  again  repeat, 
please  accept  for  yourself,  and  convey  to  the  President 
and  Directors  of  the  National  Institute,  my  most  profound 
respects  for  the  honor  you  and  they  intend  to  bestow.  I 
have,  prepared  an  humble  depository  for  my  mortal  body 
beside  that  wherein  lies  my  beloved  wife,  where,  without 
any  pomp  or  parade,  I  have  requested,  when  my  God 
calls  me  to  sleep  with  my  fathers,  to  be^  laid ;  for  both  of 
us  there  to  remain  until  the  last  trumpet  sounds  to  call 
the  dead  to  judgment,  when  we,  I  hope,  shall  rise  to 
gether,  clothed  with  that  heavenly  body  promised  to  all 
who  believe  in  our  glorious  Redeemer,  who  died  for  us 
that  we  might  live,  and  by  whose  atonement  I  hope  for  a 
blessed  immortality. 

I  am,  with  great  respect, 

your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 

To  Commodore  J.  D.  ELLIOTT,  United  States  Navy. 


LIFE   OF  JACKSON.  375 


LAST   WILL    AND    TESTAMENT. 

Hermitage,  June  1th,  1843. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  GOD,  AMEN: — I,  Andrew  Jackson, 
Sen'r.,  being  of  sound  mind,  memory,  and  understanding, 
and  impressed  with  the  great  uncertainty  of  life  and  the 
certainty  of  death,  and  being  desirous  to  dispose  of  my 
temporal  affairs  so  that  after  my  death  no  contention  may 
arise  relative  to  the  same — And  whereas,  since  executing 
my  will  of  the  30th  of  September,  1833,  my  estate  has 
become  greatly  involved  by  my  liabilities  for  the  debts  of 
my  well -beloved  and  adopted  son  Andrew  Jackson,  Jun., 
which  makes  it  necessary  to  alter  the  same :  Therefore  I, 
Andrew  Jackson,  Sen'r.,  of  the  county  of  Davidson,  and 
state  of  Tennessee,  do  make,  ordain,  publish,  and  declare 
this  my  last  will  and  testament,  revoking  all  other  wills 
by  me  heretofore  made. 

First,  I  bequeath  my  body  to  the  dust  whence  it  comes, 
and  my  soul  to  God  who  gave  it,  hoping  for  a  happy  im 
mortality  through  the  atoning  merits  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  My  desire  is,  that  my 
body  be  buried  by  the  side  of  my  dear  departed  wife,  in 
the  garden  at  the  Hermitage,  in  the  vault  prepared  in  the 
garden,  and  all  expenses  paid  by  my  executor  hereafter 
named. 

Secondly,  That  all  my  just  debts  to  be  paid  out  of  my 
personal  and  real  estate  by  my  executor ;  for  which  pur 
pose  to  meet  the  debt  my  good  friends  Gen'l  J.  B.  Plan- 
chin  &  Co.  of  New  Orleans,  for  the  sum  of  six  thousand 
dollars,  with  the  interest  accruing  thereon  loaned  to  me 
to  meet  the  debt  due  by  A.  Jackson,  Jun.,  for  the  pur 
chase  of  the  plantation  from  Hiram  G.  Runnels,  lying  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  river  Mississippi,  in  the  state  of  Mis 
sissippi.  Also,  a  debt  due  by  me  of  ten  thousand  dollars, 


376  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

borrowed  of  my  friends  Blair  and  Rives,  of  the  city  of 
Washington  and  District  of  Columbia,  with  the  interest 
accruing  thereon;  being  applied  to  the  payment  of  the 
lands  bought  of  Hiram  G.  Runnels  as  aforesaid,  and  for 
the  faithful  payment  of  the  aforesaid  recited  debts,  I  here 
by  bequeath  all  my  real  and  personal  estate.  After  these 
debts  are  fully  paid — 

Thirdly,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  adopted  son,  An 
drew  Jackson,  Junior,  the  tract  of  land  whereon  I  now 
live,  known  by  the  Hermitage  tract,  with  its  butts  and 
boundaries,  with  all  its  appendages  of  the  three  lots  of 
land  bought  of  Samuel  Donelson,  Thomas  J.  Donelson, 
and  Alexander  Donelson,  sons  and  heirs  of  Sovern  Donel 
son,  deceased,  all  adjoining  the  Hermitage  tract,  agreeable 
to  their  butts  and  boundaries,  with  all  the  appurtenances 
thereto  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining,  with  all  my 
negroes  that  I  may  die  possessed  of,  with  the  exception 
hereafter  named,  with  all  their  increase  after  the  before 
recited  debts  are  fully  paid,  with  all  the  household  furni 
ture,  farming  tools,  stock  of  all  kind,  both  on  the  Hermi 
tage  tract  farms,  as  well  as  those  on  the  Mississippi  plan 
tation,  to  him  and  his  heirs  for  ever. — The  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament  is,  that  all  my 
estate,  real,  personal,  and  mixed,  is  hereby  first  pledged 
for  the  payment  of  the  above  recited  debts  and  interest; 
and  when  they  are  fully  paid,  the  residue  of  all  my  estate, 
real,  personal  and  mixed,  is  hereby  bequeathed  to  my 
adopted  son  A.  Jackson,  Jun.,  with  the  exceptions  here 
after  named,  to  him  and  his  heirs  for  ever. 

Fourth,  Whereas  I  have  heretofore  by  conveyance,  de 
posited  with  my  beloved  daughter  Sarah  Jackson,  wife  of 
my  adopted  son  A.  Jackson,  Jun.,  given  to  my  beloved 
granddaughter,  Rachel  Jackson,  daughter  of  A.  Jackson, 
Jun.  and  Sarah  his  wife,  several  negroes  therein  described, 
which  I  hereby  confirm. — I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  be 
loved  grandson  Andrew  Jackson,  son  of  A.  Jackson,  Jun. 
and  Sarah  his  wife,  a  negro  boy  named  Ned,  son  of  Black 
smith  Aaron  and  Hannah  his  wife,  to  him  and  his  heirs 
for  ever. 

Fifth,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  beloved  little  grand- 


LAST    WILL   AND    TESTAMENT.  377 

son,  Samuel  Jackson,  son  of  A.  Jackson,  Jun.  and  his 
much  beloved  wife  Sarah,  one  negro  boy  named  Davy  or 
George,  son  of  Squire  and  his  wife  Giney,  to  him  and  his 
heirs  for  ever. 

Sixth,  To  my  beloved  and  affectionate  daughter,  Sarah 
Jackson,  wife  of  my  adopted  and  well  beloved  son,  A. 
Jackson,  Jun.,  I  hereby  recognise,  by  this  bequest,  the 
gift  I  made  her  on  her  marriage,  of  the  negro  girl  Gracy, 
which  I  bought  for  her,  and  gave  her  to  my  daughter  Sa 
rah  as  her  maid  and  seamstress,  with  her  increase,  with 
my  house-servant  Hannah  and  her  two  daughters,  name 
ly,  Charlotte  and  Mary,  to  her  and  her  heirs  for  ever. 
This  gift  and  bequest  is  made  for  my  great  affection  for 
her — as  a  memento  of  her  uniform  attention  to  me  and 
kindness  on  all  occasions,  and  particularly  when  worn  down 
with  sickness,  pain,  and  debility — she  has  been  more  than 
a  daughter  to  me,  and  I  hope  she  never  will  be  disturbed 
in  the  enjoyment  of  this  gift  and  bequest  by  any  one. 

Seventh,  I  bequeath  to  my  well  beloved  nephew,  An 
drew  J.  Donelson,  son  of  Samuel  Donelson,  deceased,  the 
elegant  sword  presented  to  me  by  the  state  of  Tennessee, 
with  this  injunction,  that  he  fail  not  to  use  it  when  neces 
sary  in  support  and  protection  of  our  glorious  union,  and 
for  the  protection  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  our  belo 
ved  country,  should  they  be  assailed  by  foreign  enemies 
or  domestic  traitors.  This,  from  the  great  change  in  my 
worldly  affairs  of  late,  is,  withy  my  blessing,  all  I  can  be 
queath  him,  doing  justice  to  those  creditors  to  whom  I 
am  responsible.  This  bequest  is  made  as  a  memento  of 
my  high  regard,  affection,  and  esteem  I  bear  for  him  as  a 
high-minded,  honest,  and  honorable  man. 

Eighth,  To  my  grand-nephew  Andrew  Jackson  Coffee, 
I  bequeath  the  elegant  sword  presented  to  me  by  the  Rifle 
Company  of  New  Orleans,  commanded  by  Capt.  Beal,  as 
a  memento  of  my  regard,  and  to  bring  to  his  recollection 
the  gallant  services  of  his  deceased  father  Gen'l  John  Cof 
fee,  in  the  late  Indian  and  British  war,  under  my  com 
mand,  and  his  gallant  conduct  in  defence  of  New  Orleans 
in  1814  and  1815;  with  this  injunction,  that  he  wield  it 
in  the  protection  of  the  rights  secured  to  the  American 


3*78  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

citizen  under  our  glorious  constitution,  against  all  inva 
ders,  whether  foreign  foes,  or  intestine  traitors. 

I  bequeath  to  my  beloved  grandson  Andrew  Jackson, 
son  of  A.  Jackson,  Jun.  and  Sarah  his  wife,  the  sword  pre 
sented  to  me  by  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  with  tin's 
injunction,  that  he  will  always  use  it  in  defence  of  the  con 
stitution  and  our  glorious  union,  and  the  -perpetuation  of 
our  republican  system :  remembering  the  motto — "  Draw 
me  not  without  occasion,  nor  sheath  me  without  honour." 

The  pistols  of  Gen'l  Lafayette,  which  were  presented 
by  him  to  Gen'l  George  Washington,  and  by  Col.  Wm. 
Robertson  presented  to  me,  I  bequeath  to  George  Wash 
ington  Lafayette,  as  a  memento  of  the  illustrious  persona 
ges  through  whose  hands  they  have  passed — his  father, 
and  the  father  of  his  country. 

The  gold  box  presented  to  me  by  the  corporation  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  the  large  silver  vase  presented  to  me 
by  the  ladies  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  my  native 
state,  with  the  large  picture  representing  the  unfurling  of 
the  American  banner,  presented  to  me  by  the  citizens  of 
South  Carolina  when  it  was  refused  to  be  accepted  by  the 
United  States  Senate,  I  leave  in  trust  to  my  son  A.  Jack 
son,  Jun.,  with  directions  that  should  our  happy  country 
not  be  blessed  with  peace,  an  event  not  always  to  be  ex 
pected,  he  will  at  the  close  of  the  war  or  end  of  the  con 
flict,  present  each  of  said  articles  of  inestimable  value,  to 
that  patriot  residing  in  the^city  or  state  from  which  they 
were  preented,  who  shall  be  adjudged  by  his  countrymen 
or  the  ladies  to  have  been  the  most  valiant  in  defence  of 
his  country  and  our  country's  rights. 
•  The  pocket  spyglass  which  was  used  by  Gen'l  Wash 
ington  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  presented  to  me 
by  Mr.  Custis,  having  been  burned  with  my  dwelling- 
house,  the  Hermitage,  with  many  other  invaluable  relics, 
I  can  make  no  dispositon  of  them.  As  a  memento  of  my 
high  regard  for  Gen'l  Robert  Armstrong  as  a  gentleman, 
patriot  and  soldier,  as  well  as  for  his  meritorious  military 
services  under  my  command  during  the  late  British  and 
Indian  war,  and  remembering  the  gallant  bearing  of  him 
and  his  gallant  little  band  at  Enotochopco  creek,  when, 


LAST    WILL   AND    TESTAMENT.  379 

falling  desperately  wounded,  lie  called  out — "  My  brave 
fellows,  some  may  fall,  but  save  the  cannon" — as  a  me 
mento  of  all  these  'things,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  him  my 
case  of  pistols  and  sword  worn  by  me  throughout  my 
military  career,  well  satisfied  that  in  his  hands  they  will 
never  be  disgraced — that  they  will  never  be  used  or 
drawn  without  occasion,  nor  sheathed  but  with  honour. 

1  .astly,  I  leave  to  my  beloved  son  all  my  walking-canes 
and  other  relics,  to  be  distributed  amongst  my  young 
relatives — namesakes — first,  to  my  much  esteemed  name 
sake,  Andrew  J.  Donelson,  son  of  my  esteemed  nephew 
A.  J.  Donelson,  his  first  choice,  and  then  to  be  distributed 
as  A.  Jackson,  Jun.  may  think  proper. 

Lastly,  I  appoint  my  adopted  son  Andrew  Jackson, 
Jun.,  my  whole  and  sole  executor  to  this  my  last  will  and 
testament,  and  direct  that  no  security  be  required  of  him 
for  the  faithful  execution  and  discharge  of  the  trusts  here 
by  reposed  in  -him. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  this  7th  day  of  June,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-three,  hereunto  set  my 
hand,  and  affixed  my  seal,  hereby  revoking  all  wills  here 
tofore  made  by  me,  and  in  the  presence  of 

MARION  ADAMS,        ~] 

ELIZABETH  D.  LOVE,  |  ANDREW  JACKSON.  (Seal.) 

THOS.  J.  DONELSON, 

RICHARD  SMITH, 

R.  ARMSTRONG. 


1 


17 


880  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

State  cf  Tennessee,  Davidson  County  Court, 
July  Term,  1845. 

A  paper  writing,  purporting  to  be  the  last  will  and  tes 
tament  of  Andrew  Jackson,  Sen.,  dec'd.,  was  produced  in 
open  court  for  probate,  and  proved  thus : — Marion  Adams, 
Elizabeth  D.  Love,  and  Richard  Smith,  three  of  the  sub- 
Scribing  witnesses  thereto,  being  first  duly  sworn,  depose 
and  say,  that  they  became  such  in  the  presence  of  the  said 
Andrew  Jackson,  Sr.,  dec'd.,  and  at  his  request  and  in  the 
presence  of  each  other;  and  that  fchey  verily  believe  he 
was  of  sound  and  disposing  mind  and  memory  at  the  time 
of  executing  the  same. 

Ordered,  That  said  paper  writing  be  admitted  to  record 
as  such  will  and  testament  of  the  said  Audrew  Jackson, 
Sr.,  dec'd.  Whereupon  Andrew  Jackson,  Jun.,  the  exe 
cutor  named  in  said  will,  came  into  court  and  gave  bond 
in  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  (there  being- 
no  security  required  by  said  will,)  and  qualified  according 
to  law. 

Ordered,  That  he  have  letters  testamentary  granted  to 
him. 

State  of  Tennessee,  Davidson  County: 

I,  Robert  B.  Castleman,  Clerk  of  the  County  Court,  of 
said  county,  do  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  and 
perfect  copy  of  the  original  will  of  Andrew  Jackson,  Sr., 
dec'd.,  together  with  the  probate  of  the  same,  as  proven 
at  the  July  term,  1845,  of  said  court,  as  the  same  remains 
of  record  in  my  office.  In  testimony  whereof  I  have 
hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  the  seal  of  said  court  at 
my  office,  this  the  15th  day  of  August,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-five. 

Ro.  B.  CASTLEMAN 
By  his  deputy, 

PHINEAS  GARRETT. 


BETHUITE'S    DISCOURSE. 


DR.     BETHUNE'S    DISCOURSE, 
Pronounced  July  6th,  1845. 


"  For  he  established  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and  appointed  a  law  in  Israel, 
which  he  commanded  our  fathers  that  they  should  make  them  known  to  their 
children;  that  the  generation  to  come  might  know  them,  even  the  children 
which  should  be  born,  who  should  arise  and  declare  them  to  their  children, 
that  they  might  set  their  hope  in  God,  and  not  forget  the  works  of  God,  but 
keep  his  commandments." — Psalm  Ixxviii.  5,  6,  7. 

Among  our  many  national  sins,  there  is  none  more 
likely  to  provoke  divine  chastisement,  yet  less  considered 
or  repented  of,  even  by  Christians,  than  ingratitude  for 
political  blessings.  That  there  are  evils  among  us,  no  one 
will  deny ;  that  changes  might  be  made  for  the  better,  it 
were  unreasonable  to  doubt ;  and,  concerning  methods  of 
removing  evil,  or  working  good,  we  may  differ  widely,  yet 
honestly.  Evil  is  inseparable  from  human  nature,  the 
best  human  schemes  are  capable  of  improvement,  and 
human  opinions  must  be  various,  because  they  are  fallible. 
It  is  a  narrow,  unthankful  spirit,  which,  brooding  over 
imperfections,  or  sighing  after  greater  advantages,  or  bitter 
ly  condemning  all  who  think  not  the  same  way,  refuses  to 
perceive  and  acknowledge  the  vast  benefits  we  actually 
enjoy.  Never  was  there  a  revolution  at  once  so  just  and 
so  successful  as  that  which  won  our  country's  indepen 
dence  :  never,  except  in  the  Bible,  have  the  rights  of  man 
been  so  clearly  and  truly  defined  as  in  our  constitution ; 
never  did  greater  success  attend  a  social  experiment  than 
has  followed  ours.  Since  the  establishment  of  our  con 
federacy,  tumults,  insurrections,  and  violent  changes,  have 
been  busy  in  all  the  civilized  world  besides.  Throne  after 
throne  has  fallen,  and  dynasties  have  been  built  up  on  the 
bloody  ruins  of  dynasties.  In  some  nations  the  people 


382  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

have  wrung,  by  force,  partial  concessions  from  hereditary 
rule;  in  others,  after  convulsive,  misdirected  efforts,  they 
have  been  crushed  again  by  the  iron  hoof  of  despotism; 
nor  is  the  voice  of  a  prophet  needed  to  foretell  a  long, 
desperate  struggle  of  uprising  humanity  with  the  powers 
of  political  darkness ;  while  the  bloody  discords  and  con 
stant  confusion  of  other  republics  on  the  same  continent 
with  ourselves,  demonstrate  the  incompatibility  of  free 
dom  with  ignorance  and  superstition.  Ours  is  now,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Russian  and  British  (if,  indeed,  the 
passage  of  the  Reform  Bill  was  i^pt  an  organic  change), 
older  than  any  monarchical  government  in  Christendom. 
The  increase  of  our  population  from  less  than  three  mil 
lions  to  twenty,  in  seventy  years,  multiplies  many  times 
any  former  example ;  yet,  notwithstanding  the  enormous 
migration  to  us  from  various  countries,  where  free  princi 
ples  are  unknown,  our  wide  land  has  more  than  enough 
room  for  all :  growth  in  numbers  has  been  a  chief  cause 
of  our  growth  in  wealth,  and  our  laws,  strong  as  they  are 
liberal,  have  proved  themselves  sufficient  to  compose, 
maintain  and  rule  all  in  concord,  prosperity  and  power. 
You  will  search  in  vain  for  another  example  of  a  vast  na 
tion  governed,  without  troops  or  armed  police,  by  their 
own  will.  It  is  not  five  years  since,  that  our  people, 
spread  out  over  an  immense  territory,  after  a  contest  in 
which  the  utmost  enthusiasm  excited  both  parties,  changed 
their  rulers.  Yet  not  a  bayonet  was  fixed,  nor  a  cannon 
pointed,  nor  a  barricade  raised,  to  guard  the  place  of  suf 
frage.  The  ballot,  falling  noiselessly  as  snow  upon  the 
rock,  achieved  the  result  Within  the  last  twelvemonth, 
the  stupendous  process  has  been  repeated  as  peaceably 
and  safely.  Each  of  the  great  political  sects,  which  divide 
the  popular  vote,  has  triumphed  and  been  beaten.  Much 
there  has  been  to  censure  in  the  harsh  recrimination  and 
unfraternal  bigotry  on  either  side ;  but  when  the  decision 
was  reached,  though  the  long-rolling  swells  which  succeed 
the  storm  did  not  at  once  subside,  and  here  and  there 
some  violent  partisan  may  have  betrayed  his  vexation,  the 
surface  became  calm,  and  the  noise  soon  died  away 
Every  true  patriot,  submissive  to  the  oracle  of  the  polls. 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  383 

whether  wisdom  or  error,  said  in  his  heart,  GOD  BLESS 


THE  PEOPLE! 


Our  difficulties,  real  or  supposed, 
advantages,  for  good  and  evil  are  i 


have  arisen  out  of  our 
mixed  with  all  human 

affairs.  The  freedom  of  those  institutions  under  which 
we  live,  has  its  price,  which  must  be  paid,  so  long  as  man 
is  prone  to  abuse,  by  impatience  and  excess,  those  favours 
of  Almighty  God  which  yield  happiness  only  when  they 
are  used  moderately  and  religiously.  Elated  by  pros 
perity,  we  have  forced  our  growth  too  fast.  We  have 
attempted  by  plausible  inventions  to  transcend  the  laws 
of  trade  and  production.  We  have  complicated  the  ma 
chinery  of  our  interests  until  our  clear,  simple  constitu 
tion,  has  become,  in  the  hands  of  sophisticating  politicians, 
a  riddle  of  mysteries.  The  limits  of  habitation  have  been 
enlarged  beyond  the  blessings  of  church  and  school-house. 
Vices  and  faults,  peculiar  to  new  settlements,  have  reach 
ed  the  heart  of  our  legislation.  To  carry  on  our  far 
grasping  schemes,  we  have  strained  our  credit  till  it  broke. 
Freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  has  been  abused  to 
licentiousness  by  prejudice,  rashness,  and  selfish  ambition. 
Acknowledging  as  we  do  the  rights  of  conscience  in  their 
broadest  meaning,  even  the  holy  name  of  religion  has 
been  dragged  upon  the  arena  of  party. 

Our  republic  is  not  a  paradise :  our  countrymen,  like 
ourselves,  are  not  angels,  but  frail,  erring  men.  Our  his 
tory  has  been  an  experiment  Mistakes  have  been  and 
will  be  made.  It  is  thus  that  we  are  to  learn.  Shall  we, 
in  coward  skepticism,  overlook  our  immense  advantages  to 
hang  our  fears  upon  a  few  faults,  or  prognosticate  the  fail 
ure  of  a  system  which  has  accomplished  so  much,  because 
it  shares  with  others  the  imperfections  of  humanity  ?  Is 
there  a  sober-minded  man  among  us,  who  would  be  will 
ing  to  encounter  the  oppressions  of  what  are  called  strong 
governments,  that  he  might  escape  from  under  our  pre 
sent  system.  Our  faults  are  our  own,  and  our  misfortunes 
are  consequences  of  our  faults ;  but  our  political  advanta 
ges  are  God's  rich  gifts,  which  it  becomes  us  thankfully 
to  receive  and  piously  improve.  All  our  evils  have  their 
legitimate  remedies,  and  there  is  no  danger  which  may 


384  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

not  be  avoided  by  a  wise  care.  Instead,  therefore,  of 
querulous  fears  and  ungrateful  discontent,  the  Christian 
patriot  should  zealously  inquire  what  he  can  do  to  secure 
and  advance  the  best  welfare  of  our  beloved  land.  Our 
holy  text  is  full  of  instruction  to  this  end. 

The  psalmist  is  describing  the  policy  of  God  with  Israel, 
the  people  whom  he  wished  to  know  no  king  but  himself, 
and  therefore,  the  only  safe  policy  for  any  people  who 
would  preserve  their  liberties  from  the  encroachment  of 
despotic  rule. 

"  He  established  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and  appointed  3 
law  in  Israel,  which  he  commanded  our  fathers  that  they 
should  make  them  known  to  their  children ;  that  the  gene 
ration  to  come  might  know  them,  even  the  children  which 
should  be  born;  who  should  arise  and  declare  them  to 
their  children,  that  they  might  set  their  hopes  in  God, 
and  not  forget  the  works  of  God,  but  keep  his  command 
ments." 

We  see  here, 

FIRST:  THE  CHARACTER  OF  A  SAFE  AND  HAPPY  PEO 
PLE. 

"They  set  their  hopes  in  God;  they  forget  not  the 
works  of  God ;  they  keep  his  commandments." 

SECONDLY:  THE  MEANS  WHICH  GOD  HAS  APPOINTED 
FOR  CULTIVATING  THIS  CHARACTER, 

"  He  established  a  law  in  Jacob,  and  appointed  a  testi 
mony  in  Israel." 

THIRDLY  :  THE  OBLIGATION  UPON  A  CHRISTIAN  PATRIOT 
ARISING  FROM  THIS  PROVIDENCE  OF  JEHOVAH. 

"He  commanded  our  fathers  that  they  should  make 
them  known  to  their  children;  that  the  generation  to 
come  might  know  them,  even  the  children  which  might 
be  born ;  who  should  arise  and  declare  them  to  their  chil 
dren." 

FIRST  :  THE  CHARACTER  OF  A  SAFE  AND  HAPPY  PEOPLE. 

They  "  set  their  hopes  in  God."  The  man  who  looks 
to  God  as  the  source  of  his  welfare,  is  lifted  above  tempta 
tion  within  and  without.  Conscious  of  a  holy,  heart- 
searching  eye,  upon  him,  his  virtue  will  not  be  an  outward 
semblance,  cloaking  from  human  sight,  secret  crime  or 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  385 

selfish  purposes.  The  opinions,  fashions,  or  rewards  of 
the  world,  will  neither  shape  his  principles  nor  modify  his 
practice.  He  will  fear  to  do  evil,  lest  he  should  offend 
against  God.  He  will  do  justice  and  love  mercy,  because 
he  walks  humbly  with  God. 

His  expectations  of  eternity  will  guard  and  sustain  him 
in  honesty.  He  knows  himself  to  be  immortal  and  God 
eternal ;  that  vice,  which  no  human  scrutiny  can  detect 
and  no  human  laws  can  punish,  will  meet  a  terrible  ven 
geance,  while  good  acts  and  purposes  will  be  rewarded 
openly  by  Him,  who  seeth  in  secret,  at  the  judgment 
day.  The  pains  of  virtue  and  the  pleasures  of  vice,  being- 
alike  transitory,  are  of  little  account  in  his  estimation,  who 
sets  his  hope  in  God,  his  Saviour,  and  his  judge.  He  re 
lies  upon  God,  because  He  is  merciful,  and  knows  that  he 
is  safe,  because  God  is  Almighty. 

Were  our  nation  composed  of  such  believers,  how  un 
troubled  would  be  our  peace !  how  entire  our  mutual  con 
fidence  !  how  free  our  affairs  from  intrigue,  corruption  and 
wrong !  The  key  would  never  be  turned  in  the  lock,  the 
gibbet  seen  no  more,  and  the  prison  doors  stand  open. 
So  man  would  fear,  but  every  man  would  love  his  neigh 
bour,  and  the  true  interests  of  all  be  acknowledged  by 
each  as  his  own. 

They  "  forget  not  the  works  of  God."  When  God  is 
the  treasury  of  a  man's  hopes,  he  loves  to  trace  the  work 
ings  of  God's  wisdom  and  power,  that  he  may  know  the 
sources  upon  which  he  can  draw.  He  considers  creation, 
and  in  its  minuteness  as  well  as  its  vastness,  he  reads  cer 
tain  proof  of  the  same  Power  which  made,  ruling  so  per 
fectly,  that  nothing  is  overlooked,  and  so  absolutely,  that 
nothing  is  beyond  his  presiding  will.  He  considers  re 
demption,  that  God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only 
begotten  Son  as  the  deliverer  of  all  who  believe  upon  his 
name,  and  that  all  power  is  in  the  hands  of  our  Elder 
Brother,  the  incarnate  God.  Therefore  is  he  sure,  that 
God  rules  in  mercy  as  well  as  justice,  that  he  will  listen 
to  the  prayer  of  his  people,  and  that,  however  mysterious 
his  methods,  all  things  are  working  together  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  the  universal  triumph  of  truth,  and  righteous 
ness,  and  Deace. 


386  LIFE    OF    JAv-KSON. 

With  such  convictions,  how  cheering  to  him  must  be  the 
study  of  Providence !  With  what  confidence,  remember 
ing  the  faithfulness  of  God  in  the  past,  will  he  confide  in 
him  amidst  the  difficulties  of  the  present,  and  for  the  de- 
velopements  of  the  future !  and  how  steadfastly  reject  for 
himself  and  for  his  country,  any  policy  which  crosses  the 
unchangeable  laws  of  God,  the  everliving  Lord ! 

How  strong  would  this  nation  be  in  hope  and  virtue, 
did  our  people  thus  remember  the  works  of  God !  For 
never,  since  the  world  began,  has  the  providence  of  God 
been  more  remarkable,  kind,  and  instructive,  than  towards 
us.  Jehovah  did  not  lead  Israel  forth  from  Egypt  to  the 
inheritance  of  Canaan  with  a  more  mighty  hand  or  mani 
fest  care,  than  has  been  seen  in  our  history  since  the  first 
prayer  o/  the  pilgrim  from  the  tyrrany  of  the  old  world 
to  this  Wtter  country,  rose  through  its  virgin  forests,  un 
til  our  present  day  of  unexampled  prosperity. 

They  "  keep  his  commandments."  The  believer's  obe 
dience  to  the  directions  of  God  is  the  necessary  result  of 
such  trust  and  study.  Gratitude  will  make  him  loyal  to 
a  sovereign  so  kind  and  faithful :  a  sense  of  his  own  weak 
ness  and  short-sightedness  will  incline  him  to  follow  land 
marks  so  certain,  and  the  approbation  of  an  honest  con 
science  reward  and  incite  him  to  persevere. 

"  Happy  is  the  people  that  are  in  such  a  case !  Yea, 
happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord!" 

SECONDLY:  THE  MEANS  WHICH  GOD  HAS  APPOINTED  FOR 
CULTIVATING  SUCH  A  CHARACTER. 

"  He  established  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and  appointed  a 
law  in  Israel:"  or  as  an  admirable  critic  translates  it,  "He 
established  an  oracle  in  Jacob,  and  deposited  a  revelation 
with  Israel." 

The  Psalmist,  doubtless,  here  refers  not  only  to  the  law 
given  on  the  Mount,  in  which  God  defined  human  duties 
and  prescribed  religious  worship,  but  to  all  the  communi 
cations  which  he  had  made  or  might  yet  make  to  man. 

The  value  of  the  word  of  God  is  seen  in  the  fact,  that 
it  is  the  word  of  God.  What  almighty  mercy  and  wis 
dom  saw  fit  to  reveal,  must  be  of  the  last  importance 
We  are  sure  of  nothino-  but  that  which  God  has  ••  v 

O 


BETHUNE'3    DISCOURSE.  38 

known.  Never  could  we  have  discovered  his  will  con 
cerning  us,  or  known  how  to  walk  in  safety,  had  he  not 
said,  "  This  is  the  way."  Never  could  we  have  been  as 
sured  of  a  Providence  over  us,  or  looked  within  the  tre 
mendous  realities  of  eternity,  had  not  he  manifested  him 
self  by  his  own  declarations,  and  brought  immortality  to 
light  by  Jesus  Christ,  the  man  whom  he  has  ordained  as 
saviour  and  judge.  Without  the  word  of  God,  we  should 
be  without  God,  ignorant,  hopeless,  lost  in  perplexity,  the 
sport  of  conjecture,  of  passion,  appetite,  and  dread. 
Truth  would  have  no  definition,  oaths  no  confirmation, 
laws  no  sanction,  and  the  grave  no  promise;  the  past 
would  teach  us  nothing  but  our  ruin,  and  the  future 
would  be  black  with  despair.  When  we  have  that  word, 
how  glorious  is  the  reverse  to  the  pious  believer!  We 
stand  by  the  side  of  God  when  he  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  earth,  and  we  look  beyond  the  catastrophe  of  created 
things  to  the  fixed  results  of  justice  and  love.  We  trace 
back  our  lineage  to  a  brotherhood  with  every  human  soul ; 
and  we  learn  the  will  of  our  common  father  concerning 
the  relations  which  bind  us  to  him  and  his  family  on  earth. 
We  see  the  path  of  righteousness  marked  for  our  feet, 
and  one  walking  by  our  side,  "  whose  form  is  like  to  that 
of  the  Son  of  God,"  sustaining  our  weakness  and  assuring 
our  faithful  obedience  of  eternal  reward,  after  the  sha 
dows  and  the  labours  of  time  shall  have  passed  away  and 
ceased  for  ever.  Nay,  in  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath,  the 
worship  of  the  sanctuary,  the  communion  of  saints,  and 
the  witnessing  sacraments,  we  have  the  foretaste,  sign, 
and  confirmation  of  an  eternal  rest,  love,  and  satisfaction 
in  the  house  of  God,  eternal  and  undefiled. 

Need  I  ask  you  to  consider  the  blessedness,  here  and 
hereafter,  of  a  nation  ^ho  know  and  obey  that  word,  and 
who  cultivate  and  delight  in  that  worship !  Where  is  the 
suicidal,  traitor  hand,  that  would  dare  pluck  this  corner 
stone  from  the  foundation  of  our  hopes,  and,  extinguish 
ing  the  light  which  heaven  has  kindled,  give  our  country 
back  to  the  gloom,  the  Jicentiousness,  and  cruelties  of 
those  nations  which  have  forgotten  God! 
17* 


388  LIFE  OF  JACKSON. 

THIRDLY  :  THE  OBLIGATIONS  UPON  THE  CHRISTIAN  PATRI 
OT  ARISING  FROM  THIS  PROVIDENCE  OF  GoD. 

"  He  commanded  our  fathers  to  make  them  known  to 
their  children ;  that  the  generation  to  come  might  know 
them,  even  the  children  which  should  be  born,  who 
should  arise  and  declare  them  unto  their  children." 

The  first  duty  laid  upon  us  is,  to  study  and  practise  the 
word  of  God  ourselves.  It  is  by  the  light  of  Christian 
example,  that  the  saving  power  of  the  gospel  is  made 
manifest  to  the  world.  The  believer  of  the  word  of  God, 
therefore,  owes  a  profession  and  practice  of  Christiainty 
not  only  to  God,  to  himself,  and  the  church,  but  to  his 
country,  because  its  welfare  can  be  secured  only  by  reli 
gion. 

Then,  it  is  our  duty,  to  the  utmost  of  our  means,  to 
give  the  advantage  of  the  same  religion  to  those  who  neg 
lect,  or  cannot,  of  themselves,  obtain  the  means  of  grace, 
especially  in  the  new  settlements  of  that  immense  valley, 
the  power  of  which  already  overbalances  the  older  states. 
Wherever  a  fellow-citizen  is  without  the  knowledge  of 
God,  there  is  an  element  of  danger  mingling  with  the  ag 
gregate  of  the  national  will.  We  can  never  control  crime, 
nor  refute  error,  but  by  truth ;  and  in  withholding  the 
truth  of  God,  we  consent  to  all  the  mischief  that  may  be 
done  by  those,  to  whom  we  might  teach  the  right,  but  do 
not 

But,  especially,  are  we  to  strive  that  the  Bible  should 
be  in  the  hands,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our 
labours,  in  the  hearts  of  the  rising  generation.  Upon 
their  shoulders  the  burthens  of  society,  our  country,  and 
the  cause  of  God,  are  soon  to  rest.  From  them  their 
children  are  to  learn  good  or  evil.  Neglect  a  child,  and 
you  have  neglected  the  man,  the  woman,  the  father,  the 
mother,  generations  yet  unborn.  The  truth  of  God  in  our 
hands  belongs  to  them,  as  much  as  to  ourselves.  It  is  de 
posited  with  us  for  their  benefit.  By  omitting  to  give  it, 
we  rob  them  of  God's  best  gift,  and  our  land,  in  future 
years,  of  its  best  defence  and  glory.  The  means  of  edu 
cation,  so  far  as  the  arts  of  reading  and  writing  go,  are 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  389 

not  enough.  Educate  with  all  your  energies.  Do  no 
thing  that  may  by  any  possibility  interfere  with,  and  eve 
rything  to  increase  such  instruction ;  but  let  us  be  ever 
ready  to  set  the  Bible  before  the  opened  eye  and  the 
craving  mind.  Better  that  a  child  should  learn  to  read 
without  the  Bible,  than  to  know  not  how  to  read  the  Bi 
ble.  Thank  God!  Christians . need  not  contend  for  de- 
bateable  ground  in  this  matter.  With  our  Bible,  and 
Tract,  and  Sunday  School  Societies,  if  we  be  only  faithful 
in  supporting  them,  we  are  more  than  a  match,  by  God's 
help,  for  all  the  infidelity  and  superstition  among  us.  We 
lose  time  and  waste  our  strength,  by  petty  squabblings 
with  evil  on  its  own  dunghill.  Let  us  rather  devote  all 
our  power  and  zeal  to  those  ready  and  open  methods  of 
disseminating  truth,  which  no  force  in  this  land  can  forbid 
us  to  use.  When  the  true  church  of  God  consecrates  the 
talents  she  has  from  Him,  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
through  our  country,  every  wall  that  the  enmity  or  idol 
atry  of  men  can  build  against  it  shall  fall  like  those  of  Je 
richo  at  the  trumpeting  of  the  Levites ;  when  she  waits 
forth,  the  light  of  her  presence  shall  dissipate  every  sha 
dow,  and,  "  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners,"  her  peace 
ful  triumphs  will  crown  our  whole  people  with  the  glory 
of  the  Lord,  a  joy  and  a  defence. 

Blessed  be  God,  there  are  those  who  have  felt  the  ne 
cessity  of  these  religious  efforts  for  the  good  of  our  coun 
try,  and  the  immortal  well-being  of  our  countrymen. 
They  are,  indeed,  but  too  few,  and  their  zeal  has  not  al 
ways  been  equal  to  their  opportunities  and  responsibility. 

Yet  in  them,  their  examples  of  Christian  conduct,  their 
testimony  to  the  power  of  religion,  and  their  benevolent 
labours  for  the  illumination  of  the  ignorant,  we  see  the 
providence  of  God  blessing  our  nation  with  moral  life,  and 
confirming  our  government,  founded  upon  the  will  of  the 
people,  by  the  only  sufficient  buttresses,  knowledge,  vir 
tue,  and  the  fear  of  God.  The  faithful  Christian  is  the 
only  faithful  patriot,  and  he  is  not  a  faithful  Christian  who 
serves  not  his  country  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  in  the 
spirit  of  his  gospel. 

These  thoughts,  as  you  know,  have  been  suggested  by 


390  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

the  recent  anniversary  of  our  national  independence,  a  day 
which  should  be  dear  and  sacred  to  us  all,  though  often 
miserably  polluted  by  intemperance,  and  profaned  by  par 
ty  assemblages.  Surely  we  might  devote  one  day  of  the 
year  to  the  charities  of  patriotic  brotherhood,  and  lose  all 
minor  distinctions  in  our  common  citizenship ;  nor  should 
we  forget  before  the  altar  of  our  father's  God,  the  Author 
of  all  mercies,  his  mighty  doings  for  us  in  the  past ;  the 
good,  the  great,  the  wise,  the  valiant,  whom  he  has  raised 
up  to  serve,  guide,  and  defend  us ;  and  the  blessing  which 
he  has  caused  to  rest  upon  their  counsels,  their  arms, 
their  zeal,  and  their  sacrifices.  Such  recollections  are 
due  to  Him,  to  our  country,  and  to  humanity.  Children 
should  hear  the  story,  and  the  best  genius  contribute  to 
its  illustration.  Fresh  laurels  should  be  plucked  and 
wreathed  upon  the  graves  of  the  beloved  for  their  coun 
try's  sake,  and  eloquence  pay  its  richest  tribute  to  their 
heaven-sent  worth,  that  the  living  may  hear  and  follow 
their  example. 

*  While  I  thus  speak,  the  spell  of  a  great  name  comes 
upon  our  hearts,  compelling  us  to  utter  their  thoughts  and 
emotions.  When  the  sun  of  that  morning  rose,  it  gilded 
the  fresh  tomb  of  one  whose  ear,  for  the  first  time  since 
the  4th  of  July,  1776,  failed  to  vibrate  with  the  thunder- 
ings  of  his  country's  birth-day  joy ;  and  a  voice,  for  the 
first  time,  answered  not  its  cheers,  which,  since  its  boyish 
shout  was  heard  through  the  Revolutionary  strife,  had 
never  been  wanting  in  the  annual  conclamation.  The  iron 
will,  whose  upright  strength  never  quivered  amidst  the 
lightning  storms  that  crashed  around  it  in  battle  or  con 
troversy;  the  adamantine  judgment,  against  which  ad 
verse  opinions  dashed  themselves  to  break  into  scattered 
foam ;  the  far-reaching  faith,  that  flashed  light  upon  dan 
gers  hidden  from  the  prudence  of  all  beside ;  the  earnest 
affection,  that  yearned  in  a  child's  simplicity,  the  purpose 
of  a  sage,  a  parent's  tenderness,  and  the  humble  fidelity 
of  a  sworn  servant  over  the  people  who  gave  it  rule  and 
elevation,  have  ceased  among  us:  Andrew  Jackson  is 
with  God.  He,  who  confessed  no  authority  on  earth  but 
the  welfare  of  his  country  and  his  own  convictions  of  right ; 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  391 

who  never  turned  to  rest  while  a  duty  remained  to  be 
done,  and  who  never  asked  the  support  of  any  human 
arm  in  his  hour  of  utmost  difficulty;  bowed  his  head 
meekly  to  the  command  of  the  Highest,  and  walked  calm 
ly  down  into  the  grave,  leaning  upon  the  strength  of  Je 
sus;  paused  on  the  threshold  of  immortality  to  forgive 
his  enemies,  to  pray  for  our  liberties,  to  bless  his  weeping 
household,  and  to  leave  the  testimony  of  his  trust  in  the 
gospel  of  the  Crucified ;  and  then,  at  the  fall  of  a  Sabbath 
evening,  passed  into  the  rest  which  is  eternal     His  last 
enemy  to  be   destroyed  was  death.     Thanks  be  to  God, 
who  gave  him  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ! 
To  say  that  he  had  faults,  is  to  say  that  he  was  human ; 
the  errors  of  a  mind  so  energetic,  hi  a  career  so  eventful, 
must  have  been  striking;  nor  could  a  character  be  sub 
jected  to  censure  more  merciless,  than  he  provoked  by  a 
policy  original  and  unhesitating,  at  open  war  with  long- 
established  usages,  and  dogmas  that  had  grown  into  un 
questioned  axioms.     Bereft  in  his  early  youth  of  parental 
guidance  and  restraint,   educated  in  the  camp  and  the 
forest  bivouac,  and  forced  to  push  his  own  fortunes  through 
the  rough  trials  of  a  border  life,  we  can  scarcely  wonder 
that,  until  age  had  schooled  his  spirit  and  tempered  his 
blood,  he  was  impetuous,  sensitive  to  insult,  and  prone  to 
use  the  strong  hand.     Warm  in  his  attachments,  he  was 
slow  to  discover  frailty  in  those  he  loved,  or  to  accord 
confidence  where  once  he  had  doubted.     Grasping,  by 
his  untutored  genius,  conclusions  which  other  men  reach 
by  philosophical  detail,  he  made,  while  sure  of  just  ends, 
some  mistakes  in  his  methods,   for  the  time  disastrous. 
Called  to  act  at  a  crisis  when  the  good  and  evil  in  our 
national  growth  had  become  vigorous  enough  for  conflict, 
and  wealth  and  labour,  like  the  twins  of  Rebecca,  were 
struggling  for  the  right  of  the  elder  born,  his  decisions 
in  great  but  sudden  emergencies  were  denounced  by  that 
after  criticism,  which  can  look  back  to  condemn,  but  is 
blind  to  lead.     Compelled  to  resolve  stupendous,  unpre 
cedented  questions  of  government  and  political  economy, 
he  roused  the  hostility  of  opposite  schools  in  those  difficult 
sciences.     Never  shrinking  from  any  responsibility,  per- 


392  LIFE    OF   JACKSON. 

sonal  or  official,  he  sternly  fulfilled  his  interpretations  of 
duty,  as  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  national  legislature, 
leaving  his  course  to  the  verdict  of  his  constituents ;  nor 
did  he  hesitate  to  avail  himself  of  all  the  means  he  could 
extract  from  the  letter  of  the  constitution,  to  achieve  what 
he  thought  was  the  intent  of  its  spirit.  His  was  a  stern, 
prompt,  and  energetic  surgery,  and  though  the  body  poli 
tic  writhed  under  the  operation,  none  can  tell,  though 
some  may  conjecture,  the  more  fatal  consequences  his  se 
verity  averted.  If  he  were  wrong,  public  opinion  has 
since  adopted  the  chief  of  his  heresies,  and  there  is  no 
hand  strong  enough  or  daring  enough  to  lay  one  stone 
upon  another  of  that  which  he  threw  down  into  ruins. 
But  in  all  this,  his  heart  was  with  the  people,  his  faith 
firm  in  the  sufficiency  of  free  principles;  and  regardless 
alike  of  deprecating  friends  and  denouncing  opponents, 
he  held  on  throughout  to  one  only  purpose,  the  perma 
nent  good  of  the  whole,  unchecked  by  particular  privile 
ges,  and  unfettered  by  artificial  restrictions.  To  use  his 
own  lofty  language,  "  In  vain  did  he  bear  upon  his  person 
enduring  memorials  of  that  contest  in  which  American 
liberty  was  purchased;  *  *  *  in  vain  did  he  since 
peril  property,  fame,  and  life,  in  defence  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  so  dearly  bought,  if  any  doubts  can  be  enter 
tained  of  the  purity  of  his  purposes  and  motives.  *  * 

Nor  could  he  have  found  an  inducement  to  com 
mence  a  career  of  ambition,  when  gray  hairs  and  a  de 
caying  frame,  instead  of  inviting  to  toil  and  battle,  called 
him  to  contemplate  other  worlds,  where  conquerors  cease 
to  be  honoured,  and  usurpers  expatiate  their  crimes." 

But  though  there  are  passages  in  his  life,  about  which 
the  most  honest  have  held,  and  may  yet.  hold,  contrary 
opinions,  there  are  services  of  his  demanding  the  gratitude 
of  all,  and  virtues  all  must  delight  to  honour.  Can  we 
forget  that  victory,  in  which  his  ready  strategy  and  con 
summate  skill  turned  back,  by  the  valour  of  scarcely  dis 
ciplined  men,  the  superior  numbers  and  veteran  determi 
nation  of  a  foreign  foe  from  the  spoil  and  dishonour  of  a 
rich  and  populous  territory  ?  or  the  entire  success,  with 
which  he  delivered  from  the  scalping-knife  and  torture  of 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  3*93 

wily  and  ferocious  savages,  the  Florida  settlements,  an 
achievement,  which  in  subsequent  trials  far  less  arduous, 
no  other  leader  has  been  able  to  imitate?  Or  the  tri 
umph  of  simple  firmness  over  diplomatic,  procrastinating 
uibtleties,  when,  planting  his  foot  upon  what  was  clearly 
ight,  in  a  determination  to  suffer  nothing  that  was  clearly 
tfrong,  he  swung  round  a  mighty  European  empire  to  pay 
its  long-withheld  indemnity  for  injuries  done  to  American 
commerce  ?  And  in  that  darkest  hour  of  our  country's 
history,  when  a  narrow  sectionalism  counterfeited  the 
colour  of  patriotic  zeal,  and  discord  shook  her  gorgon 
locks,  and  men  shuddered  as  they  saw,  yawning  wide  in 
the  midst  of  our  confederacy,  a  gulf  which  threatened  to 
demand  the  devotion  of  many  a  life  before  it  would  close 
again,  how  sublimely  did  he  proclaim  over  the  land  that 
doctrine  sacred  as  the  name  of  Washington,  The  Union 
must  be  preserved!  and  the  storm  died  away  with  impo 
tent  mutterings.  Xor  is  his  glory  in  this  the  less,  that 
he  shared  it  with  another,  and  that  other,  one  whose 
name  the  applauses  of  his  countrymen  have  taught  the 
mountains  and  the  valleys  to  echo  down  for  far  genera 
tions,  as  the  gallant,  the  frank,  the  brilliant  statesman,  to 
whose  fame  the  highest  office  could  add  no  decoration, 
nor  disappointment  rob  of  just  claims  to  the  people's  love. 
It  was  a  lofty  spectacle,  full  of  rebuke  to  party  jealousy 
and  of  instruction  to  their  countrymen,  when  Henry  Clay 
offered  the  compromise  of  his  darling  theory,  and  An 
drew  Jackson  endorsed  the  new  bond  that  made  the 
Union  again,  and,  as  we  trust,  indissolubly  firm. 

Remarkable  as  the  contrast  is,  there  were  traits 
in  the  temper  of  the  indomitable  old  man,  tender,  sim 
ple,  and  touching.  With  what  faithful  affection  he 
honoured  her  while  living,  whose  dear  dust  made  the 
hope  of  his  last  resting-place  more  sweet,  that  he  might 
sleep  again  at  her  side !  And,  if  his  heart  seemed  some 
times  steeled  against  the  weakness  of  mercy,  when  crime 
was  to  be  punished,  or  mutiny  controlled,  or  danger  an 
nihilated  ;  he  could  also  stoop  in  his  career  of  bloody  con 
quest,  to  take  a  wailing,  new-made  orphan  to  his  pitying 
heart ;  with  the  same  hand,  that  had  just  struck  down 


394  LIFE    OP   JACKSON. 

invading  foes,  he  steadied  the  judgment-seat  shaken  with 
the  tremors  of  him  who  sat  upon  it,  to  pronounce  sen 
tence  against  him  for  law  violated  in  martial  necessity ; 
and  at  the  height  of  authority,  the  poor  man  found  him  a 
brother  and  a  friend. 

But,  O  how  surpassingly  beautiful  was  his  closing 
scene,  when,  as  the  glories  of  his  earthly  honour  were  fad 
ing  in  the  brightness  of  his  eternal  anticipations,  and  his 
head  humbly  rested  upon  the  bosom  of  Him  who  was 
crucified  for  our  sins,  his  latest  breath  departed  in  the 
praises  of  that  religion  which  had  become  his  only  boast, 
and  in  earnest  counsel  that  all  who  loved  him  might  ob 
tain  the  like  faith,  and  meet  him  in  heaven !  There  was 
no  doubt  in  his  death;  he  had  prepared  to  meet  his  God; 
and  when  his  giant  heart  fainted,  and  his  iron  frame  fail 
ed,  God  was  the  strength  of  his  heart,  and  his  portion  for 
ever.  Little  would  all  his  achievements  have  won  for 
him,  had  he  gained  the  whole  world,  yet  lost  his  soul; 
but  now  his  fame  will  survive  until  time  shall  be  no  more, 
and  his  spirit  is  immortal  among  the  redeemed.  The  an 
gels  bore  him  from  us,  no  longer  the  hero,  the  statesman, 
the  guide  of  millions,  and  the  master  mind  of  his  country ; 
but  a  sinner  saved  by  grace,  to  the  feet  of  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  a  little  child  of  God  to  the  bosom  of  his  Father. 
My  hearers,  have  you  been  his  friends?  Obey  his  part 
ing  counsel,  and  by  faith  in  Jesus,  follow  him  to  heaven, 
whom  you  have  delighted  to  follow  on  earth.  Have  you 
been  in  opposition  to  his  life  ?  Refuse  not  the  profit  of 
his  death,  but  find  in  that  blood,  which  cleansed  him 
from  all  his  sins,  atonement  for  your  own.  0  that  his 
last  testimony  had  the  same  power  over  men's  souls,  as 
his  cheer  in  battle,  and  his  proclamations  of  political  doc 
trine  !  Then  would  he  shine  bright  among  the  brightest 
in  the  constellation  of  those  who  turn  many  to  righteous 
ness. 

My  brethren,  I  have  spoken  much  longer  than  I  meant 
to  have  done,  but  you  would  not  have  withheld  from  me 
the  privilege.  If  I  have  dwelt  upon  the  best  traits  in  the 
notable  character  of  one,  who  has  not  been  suffered  to 
escar>e  the  earnest  crimination  of  many,  it  has  been  be- 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  395 

cause  lie  is  dead.  You,  who  listened  to  me  with  so  much 
candour,  when  I  paid,  four  years  since,  an  humble  tribute 
to  the  merits  of  him  who  reached  the  height  of  authority 
to  sink  into  a  grave  watered  by  a  nation's  tears,  will  not 
condemn  my  utterance  o£  similar  emotions  now.  The 
jackal  hate,  that  howls  over  the  Iffeless  body,  is  far  remo 
ved  from  yojjr  Christian  charity  and  generous  judgment 

"Vile  is  the  vengeance  on  the  ashes  cold, 
And  envy  base  to  bark  at  sleeping  mould." 

Let  us  rather  pray  as  Christians,  that  the  memory  of 
good  deeds  may  live,  and  the  example  of  a  Christian's 
death  be  sanctified.  Let  us,  as  Christian  patriots,  take 
new  courage  in  setting  forth,  by  word  and  practice,  the 
paramount  virtue  of  the  religion  we  profess,  to  save  our 
country,  as  it  saves  the  soul;  and,  while  we  mourn  the 
conflicts  of  evil  passion,  not  forget  the  actual  good  which, 
by  the  Divine  favour,  is  working  out  health  from  the  mys 
terious  fermentation. 

There  is,  notwithstanding  occasional  agitation,  a  calm 
good  sense  among  our  people,  sufficient  to  recover  and 
maintain  the  equilibrium.  It  is  not  seen  blustering  around 
the  polls ;  it  is  not  heard  vociferating  and  applauding  in 
party  meetings ;  nor,  unhappily,  does  it  often  appear  on 
the  arena,  where  misnomered  statesmen*struggle  rather 
for  personal  advancement  than  their  country's  good ;  but 
it  lives  with  those,  who,  in  honest  toil,  are  too  independent 
to  be  bought,  or,  in  honest  competence,  too  content  to  de 
sire  the  doubtful  distinctions  of  popular  favor.  It  is  nur 
tured  by  the  lessons  of  holy  religion.  It  is  breathed  in 
the  prayer  of  God's  true  worshippers.  It  deliberates 
around  the  domestic  hearth,  where  the  father  thinks  of 
the  posterity  who  are  to  live  after  him ;  in  the  philosophic 
retirement  of  the  man  of  letters ;  in  the  workshop  where 
the  freeman  feels  proud  of  his  sweat ;  and  in  the  cultured 
field,  from  which  the  farmer  knows  that  his  bread  is  sure 
by  the  bounty  of  heaven.  It  is  felt  in  the  practice  of 
common  duties,  the  example  of  daily  virtues,  and  the  re 
sults  of  observant  experience.  It  is  like  oil  on  the  "waves 
of  noisy  strife.  The  man  in  power  trembles  as  he  hears 


396  LIFE    OF    JACKSON. 

its  still  small  voice ;  the  secret  conspirator  finds  its  clear 
eye  upon  him,  and  quails  beneath  the  searching  scrutiny ; 
and,  like  the  angel  of  Israel,  it  meets  the  demagogue  on 
his  way  to  curse  the  land  which  God  has  blest,  and,  if  he 
be  not  turned  back,  it  alarms  ^and  forewarns  the  beast  on 
which  he  rides.  • 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  party  of  the  honest  and  intel 
ligent  is  small,  far  smaller  than,  with  my  reHpect  for  my 
country,  I  believe  it  to  be;  but,  if  it  be,  it  has  still  the 
controlling  voice  from  the  divisions  of  the  rest.  Each  dis 
astrous  experiment  teaches  them  new  prudence,  each  well- 
sustained  trial  new  courage.  They  have  not  looked  for 
immediate  perfection,  and,  therefore,  are  willing  yet  to 
learn.  They  are  the  men  who  hold  the  country  together, 
and  their  influence  is  the  salt  which  saves  the  mass  from 
utter  corruption.  I  look  upward  above  the  dust  which 
is  raised  by  scuffling  partisans,  to  the  throne  of  our  fath 
ers'  God ;  I  look  backward  on  all  the  threatening  events 
through  which  he  has  brought  us ;  and  I  can  commit  my 
country  to  the  care  of  Him  who  "  maketh  even  the  wrath 
of  man  to  praise  him,"  and  believe  that  it  is  safe.  Under 
providence,  I  rely  with  an  unshaken  faith  on  the  intelli 
gent  will  of  the  American  people.  If  my  faith  be  a  de 
lusion,  may  it  go  with  me  to  my  grave.  When  its  war 
rant  proves  falw,  I  could  pray  God,  if  it  be  his  will,  to  let 
me  die ;  for  the  brightest  hope  that  ever  dawned  on  poli 
tical  freedom  shall  have  been  lost  in  darkness,  the  fairest 
column  ever  reared  by  the  hands  of  men  cast  down,  and 
the  beacon  light  of  the  world  gone  out. 

My  hearers,  we  must  soon  appear  before  God  to  an 
swer*  for  all  our  conduct  here.  Then,  what  will  avail  all 
our  busy,  anxious,  most  successful  pursuit  of  this  world, 
if,  through  neglect  of  a  timely  faith  and  repentance,  we 
are  lost  for  ever  ?  Let  me  entreat  you,  therefore,  to  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  that  the  Ho 
ly  Spirit  may  be  your  guide,  Christ  your  intercessor,  and 
the  Father  receive  you  among  the  children  of  his  love.  Un 
til  we  have  obtained  this  grace  for  ourselves,  we  shah1  seek 
in  vain  to  do  any  real  good ;  there  is  no  promise  of  an 
answer  to  our  prayers,  or  of  a  blessing  upon  our  zeal 


BETHUNE'S  DISCOURSE.  897 

We  cannot  be  faithful  to  others,  while  we  remain  unfaith 
ful  to  God  and  our  own  souls.  May  the  voice  of  Provi 
dence,  confirming  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  prevail 
with  us  all  to  prepare  for  eternity,  that  in  our  wise  pre 
paration,  we  may^ecure  our  own  best  happiness,  by  ren 
dering  the  best  service  to  God,  our  country,  and  our  race ! 
Amen. 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THE    END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 


on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

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